WHATSAPP BANNED OVER 3 MILLION ACCOUNTS IN JUNE-JULY 2021: TRANSPARENCY REPORT

WHATSAPP BANNED OVER 3 MILLION ACCOUNTS IN JUNE-JULY 2021: TRANSPARENCY REPORT

WhatsApp

                         WhatsApp account bans were largely caused thanks to spamming in India.

WhatsApp says in its second Transparency Report that nearly 95 percent of all account bans on the platform were thanks to unauthorised use of bulk messaging to cause spams.

Banned:-

WhatsApp banned over 3 million accounts in India within the period between June 16 and July 31, the corporate claimed in its second and latest Transparency Report, filed Tuesday, August 31. The bans were enforced largely to stop spam on the platform, and 95 percent of the banned accounts were faraway from the platform thanks to unauthorised use of automated messaging on the app, which resulted in spam. The report also claimed that WhatsApp received 594 grievance reports from users during the above mentioned 46-day period, most of which were associated with users attempting to possess their account bans reversed.

Of the grievance reports received during this era , WhatsApp has said that it took remedial actions and recourses in 74 cases, out of which 73 were linked to account bans only. WhatsApp added explanations to how it bans accounts, stating that detection of abuse on its platform occurs at three stages – once when an account is newly registered, subsequently during regular messaging (where WhatsApp uses app metadata to measure behaviour), and eventually in response to user reports, which incorporates feedback within the sort of reported spams or blocking of accounts.

A WhatsApp spokesperson added on the matter, “We are particularly focused on prevention because we believe it's far better to prevent harmful activity from happening within the first place than to detect it after harm has occurred. WhatsApp is an industry leader in preventing abuse, among end-to-end encrypted messaging services. Over the years, we've consistently invested in AI and other state of the art technology, data scientists and experts, and in processes, so as to stay our users safe on our platform"

This is the second transparency report that WhatsApp has published in India, after the new IT Rules, 2021 mandated, among other things, regular transparency reports from social media beneficiaries so as to stay compliant and be protected as an intermediary in India. The new rules caused many furore in terms of how they impact social media platforms operating in India, and Twitter especially was pulled out for failure to suits the new rules. The IT Rules 2021 also mandated the appointment of a Nodal Contact and Grievance Officer to coordinate with government compliance requests – and also ensure furbishing of Transparency Reports regarding actions taken on users by the businesses .

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SHOUVIK DAS Shouvik Das may be a technology reporter who covers cyber security, gaming, internet, technology policy, new technologies and science for BIONICK and CNN-News18's weekly Tech & Auto Show. He has been reporting on various beats of technology across print, online and tv platforms for over six years. He features a deep-rooted interest in engineering and mobility, may be a part-time trainspotter, and a Manchester United supporter.