WhatsApp, owned by Meta (formerly Facebook), has disclosed that it banned over 6.5 million problematic accounts in India during May, in adherence to the new IT Rules 2021. Out of these accounts, 2.4 million were proactively banned even before receiving user reports.
This comes after WhatsApp had banned a record-breaking 7.4 million accounts in April. With over 500 million users in India, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in the country.
During May, WhatsApp received 3,912 grievance reports, including appeals for account unbanning, from Indian users. Out of these reports, 297 were actioned upon, meaning that WhatsApp took remedial action based on the reports. The company's user-safety report outlines both the complaints received from users and the corresponding actions taken by WhatsApp to combat abuse on its platform.
To address the concerns of Indian social media users, the government recently established the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC). This committee aims to address appeals made by users against decisions taken by social media platforms regarding content and other related issues.
This move is part of the government's efforts to strengthen digital regulations and hold Big Tech companies accountable. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has introduced amendments to protect the rights of Indian citizens in the digital realm.
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Meanwhile, Facebook took action against 27 percent of complaints it received from users, and Instagram against less than half of the total grievances raised by users in May 2023. Facebook received a total of 16,995 grievances from users and provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 2,325 cases.
In a recent monthly compliance report, Elon Musk-owned Twitter also revealed that it had banned a record-breaking 1,132,228 accounts in India between April 26 and May 25.
