WhatsApp ban slapped on almost 2 million Indian accounts

WhatsApp ban was slapped on over 1.75 million accounts in India. This was revealed in a WhatsApp compliance report in compliance with the IT Rules 2021.

Meta-owned WhatsApp banned over 1.75 million accounts in India in compliance with the IT Rules 2021. (REUTERS)

The instant messaging application WhatsApp banned 1,759,000 accounts in India in November 2021 in compliance with IT rules. WhatsApp also revealed that it received 602 grievance reports during this period and took action on 36 of those. Even in October 2021, the Meta-owned messaging platform had banned over 2 million accounts in India. WhatsApp ban does seem huge, but the popular messaging app has more than 400 million users in India.

"In accordance with the IT Rules 2021, we've published our sixth monthly report for the month of November. This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp's own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform," A WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement over the banning of accounts.

The recent report is the sixth monthly report in accordance with the IT Rules 2021 for the month of November. The report shares the details of the complaints received from the users and the action taken against it. It also shared WhatsApp's preventive actions to combat abuse on the platform.

Among end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms, WhatsApp is the market leader in preventing abuse. To keep the users secure on messaging platforms, the platform has constantly invested in Artificial Intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies, data scientists and experts, and processes.

WhatsApp banned accounts in India: Why it was done

More than 95 percent of WhatsApp bans, according to the Facebook-owned company, are related to the unlawful use of automated or bulk messaging such as the spam messages. WhatsApp banned over 2 million Indian accounts, and the messaging app has received 500 complaints reports in October. In its most recent report, WhatsApp claimed it received 602 user reports in November 2021, spanning issues of account support for 149 accounts, 357 ban appeal, other support, 48 product support reports, and 27 safety issues reports. Based on the reports received, 36 accounts were "actioned" under the ban appeal category during this time.

The new IT guidelines, which come into effect in May, demand that big digital platforms with more than 5 million users publish monthly compliance reports detailing complaints received and actions taken. Despite of having end-to-end encrypted platform, which ensures no visibility to the content or messages. To detect and prevent abuse on its network, WhatsApp uses publicly available unencrypted data such as user reports, profile images, group photos, and descriptions, as well as advanced AI tools and resources.