Image Source: Twitter
WhatsApp said on Wednesday that it banned 36.77 lakh accounts in India in November, somewhat fewer than the number of accounts it restricted the previous month.
In India, there are 13.89 lakh banned WhatsApp accounts that were stopped proactively before being detected by users.
WhatsApp suspended 37.16 lakh accounts in the nation in December, including 9.9 lakh accounts that were prohibited proactively.
“Between 1 December 2022 and 31 December 2022, 3,677,000 WhatsApp accounts were banned. 1,389,000 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users,” WhatsApp said in its India Monthly Report for December published under the Information Technology Rules 2021.
The stricter IT regulations, which went into force last year, require big digital platforms (with more than 50 lakh users) to submit compliance reports every month, including the specifics of complaints received and actions taken.
Hate speech, disinformation, and false news have all been reported on major social media sites in the past. Some people have expressed concerns about digital platforms acting arbitrarily in removing material and ‘de-platforming’ users.
The government established last week three grievance appeal bodies that will address user complaints against prominent social media companies beginning March 1.
In December, WhatsApp user appeals increased by over 70% to 1607, including appeals to ban 1,459 accounts, compared to 946 complaints in November.
The instant messaging company only responded to 166 appeals.
WhatsApp stated that it answers to all concerns submitted, save those that are believed to be duplicates of earlier tickets.
According to the study, an account is ‘actioned’ when it is banned or a previously banned account is reinstated as a consequence of a complaint.
According to the research, WhatsApp utilises tools and resources to prevent harmful behaviour on the network in addition to reacting to and acting on user concerns via the grievance channel.