WhatsApp, a messaging platform owned by Meta, expressed its gratitude on Tuesday for the recognition of its unwavering dedication to user safety in India. This acknowledgement came from Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister of IT and Railways, following a recent incident in which users were inundated with a barrage of international spam calls, leading to increased scrutiny of the company.
On the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister of IT and Railways, introduced the Sanchar Saathi portal on Tuesday. This portal is designed to assist millions of individuals in locating their lost or stolen mobile phones. During the launch, Vaishnaw highlighted WhatsApp's collaboration with the government in ensuring the safety of its customers, emphasizing the company's commitment to user security.
WhatsApp spokesperson said, "We are grateful for the minister's acknowledgement of WhatsApp's continuous commitment to user safety. We have been actively engaging with the government to consistently ensure a safe and secure user experience, including weeding out bad actors from the platform.”
According to the spokesperson, WhatsApp stands as a frontrunner among end-to-end encrypted services when it comes to safeguarding user safety. The company remains dedicated to providing numerous built-in safety tools such as Block & Report and Two-step verification. Additionally, WhatsApp consistently promotes user safety education and awareness as part of its ongoing efforts.
In response to the escalating problem of international scam calls in India, WhatsApp announced last week that it has taken measures to address the issue. The government acknowledged the problem and expressed its intention to send a notice to the platform regarding the matter.
With a user base of over 500 million in the country, the platform stated that it has significantly enhanced its artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) systems to effectively reduce such incidents. By leveraging these advanced technologies, WhatsApp has taken substantial steps to mitigate the occurrence of such incidents.
The spokesperson of the company said in a statement: "Our new enforcement will reduce the current calling rate by at least 50 per cent and we expect to be able to control the current incidence effectively. We will continue to work relentlessly towards ensuring a safe experience for our users.”
These spam calls with international numbers, mostly from African and Southeast Asian countries, along with fake messages from unknown users, flooded WhatsApp users in India.
Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday announced a new WhatsApp feature called Chat Lock to safeguard intimate chats.
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Inputs from IANS
