A US senator has come under fire over advising the facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg not to use Swahili when writing his user agreement policy.
Senator John Kennedy a republican from Louisana was part of a senate committee questioning the CEO over his company’s involvement in a scandal that has gripped british political consulting firm Cambridge analytica where it has been revealed that Facebook allowed the consultancy firm to access the data of more than 87 million users in the platform.
“Your facebook user agreements s*cks” John Kennedy said
“Am gonna suggest to you that you go back to facebook and rewrite it . And tell your $1200 an hour Laywers no disrespect, they’re good, but tell them that you want it written in English and non-Swahili, so the average American can understand it.’’ Senator John Kennedy said.
However Kennedy’s remarks rubbed a section of twitter users the wrong way who termed his remarsks on Swahili as a racial slur.
Non-Swahili? Come on with the casual racism, Sen. Kennedy. Plenty of people speak and understand Swahili. It’s not their fault you don’t.
— Chris Garaffa (@cmg) April 10, 2018
Sen. John Kennedy told Zuckerberg Facebook's TOS should be written in "English, not Swahili." I disagree: it 'd be MORE understandable in Swahili, which lacks weasel words of English lawyer-ese. #zuckhearings
— Nebojša Malić (@NebojsaMalic) April 11, 2018
It's always reps from states that treat their constituents like shit that got something to say about people or cultures that don't got shit to do with anything. John Neely Kennedy, keep Swahili out your goddamned mouth. Trash ass.
— Openly Black 🖤 (@FromNazWithLove) April 11, 2018
Ahhhh yes, casual racism in congressional hearings. John Kennedy wants Facebook's user agreement to be written in "non-Swahili" completely disregaring…..people who speak Swahili.
— Baraka Kaseko (@bkaseko) April 10, 2018
However the Senator has insisted that his remarks were not a racial slur when asked by CNN reporter Erin Bernet if he would apologize over the remarks.
