WhatsApp blocks 2 million India users over ‘spam message abuses’

WhatsApp blocks 2 million India users over ‘spam message abuses’

WhatsApp blocks 2 million India users over ‘spam message abuses’
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WhatsApp has blocked more than two million users in India in just a month for breaching its rulebooks, the United States-based company has revealed in its first amenability report under India’s controversial new social media rules.

Most of the users were blocked for what the company called spam message exploitations.

The Facebook-owned firm has put a limit on mass-forward messaging in a bid to counter misrepresentation.

India applied new rules in May to control social media companies, forcing them to divulge each month their efforts to police their platforms.

“We maintain advanced capabilities to identify these accounts sending a high or abnormal rate of messages and banned two million accounts in India alone from May 15 to June 15 attempting this kind of abuse,” WhatsApp stated in its report released late on Thursday.

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The company said its “top focus” remains on averting the extent of harmful and unwanted messages.

WhatsApp has more than 400 million users in India, one of its top markets, but has often found itself opposite criticism over the spread of misrepresentation.

Dozens of people were lynched in India in 2018 following rumors spread on WhatsApp about gangs pilfering children.

The occurrences encouraged the messaging app to announce a boundary on substance forward messaging in India.

WhatsApp and some Indian media firms have been required to contest the new social media rules in court.

Critics say the government is looking to crush disagreement but the government says it is endeavoring to make social media safer.

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Under the rules, social media stages have to portion details of the “first originator” of posts considered to destabilize India’s dominion, state security, or public order.

WhatsApp says the rules violate India’s privacy laws.

 

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