Warning: Your WhatsApp Account Could Be Banned – Over 7.4 Million Users Already Affected

WhatsApp, which is owned by META right now, has banned a record of over 74 lakh bad accounts in India only in August, in compliance with the new IT Rules 2021.

The most popular messaging platform is WhatsApp right now, and this has over 500 million users in the country, received another record 14,767 complaint reports in August in the country, and the accounts that are recorded as “actioned” were 71. “Accounts Actioned” indicates that  WhatsApp took remedial action based on the report and taking action indicates either a banned account or a previously banned account being restored as a result. Out of 74 lakh accounts, 35 lakh accounts are already proactively banned, even before getting any reports from other users. The monthly ‘user-safety report’ provides insights into user complaints received by WhatsApp and this measure has helped to address these concerns with the platform’s proactive steps to fight abuse a lot. WhatsApp received a notice from the Grievance Appellate Committee last August and they are complying with it.  The Center has recently established a Grievance Appeal Committee to address the concerns of users on many content-related issues. The objective of this panel is to strengthen digital regulation and take action on user’s complaints against social media platforms.

The report says, “Between August 1 and August 31, a total of 74,20,748 WhatsApp accounts were banned. 35.06 lakh of these accounts were proactively banned, even before any reports from users.” 

The WhatsApp company has said

“This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp’s preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform…we are an industry leader among end-to-end encrypted messaging services in preventing and combating abuse. In addition to our safety features and controls, we employ a team of engineers, data scientists, analysts, researchers, and experts in law enforcement, online safety, and technology developments to oversee these efforts.”