WhatsApp Bans Over 71 Lakh Accounts In India In September

WhatsApp, the popular messaging platform, has announced that it has removed more than 71 lakh accounts in India during September. The Meta-owned platform revealed this data in its latest “India Monthly Report”. In August, WhatsApp banned 74 lakh Indian accounts.

“Between 1 September, 2023 and 30 September 2023, 71,11,000 WhatsApp accounts were banned,” WhatsApp mentioned in its report. The report also states that out of total banned accounts, 25,71,000 accounts were proactively banned before any reports from users. Notably, an Indian WhatsApp account is identified via the “+91” country code. WhatsApp announced that they received 10,442 complaint reports between September 1 and September 30.

WhatsApp releases its monthly report in India in compliance with IT Rules 2021. This report highlights the measures taken by the platform to ensure user safety. The detailed report reveals the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp. The report also shows WhatsApp’s own preventive actions to combat abuse on the messaging platform. WhatsApp claims that it deploys a combination of security measures and processes to ensure user safety. “We pay close attention to user feedback and engage with specialists in stemming misinformation, promoting cybersecurity, and preserving election integrity,” the platform added in its report.

As per the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, digital platforms with more than 50 lakh users are required to post compliance reports each month that include information about complaints received as well as the actions taken. In February, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology introduced the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) portal under the IT Rules, 2021. The main objective of the GAC is to examine user complaints to unsatisfactory grievance redressal by social media intermediaries.