WhatsApp banned 16.66 lakh Indian accounts in April for violating usage policies

New Delhi: Global instant messaging giant WhatsApp banned 16.66 lakh Indian accounts between April 1 and April 30 period for violating usage policies of the company. An Indian account is identified by the +91-country code prefix. The report was released on Wednesday.

In its monthly report for the period between April 1 and April 30, WhatsApp said it received a total of 844 reports for a variety of grievances such as account support, ban appeal, product, and other support. It took action on a total of 123 such reports.

During the April 1 to April 30 period, WhatsApp received ban appeals from 670 accounts of which it overturned the ban of 122 accounts.

“In addition to responding to and actioning on user complaints through the grievance channel, WhatsApp also deploys tools and resources to prevent harmful behavior on the platform. The abuse detection operates at three stages of an account’s lifestyle: at registration, during messaging, and

in response to negative feedback, which we receive in the form of user reports and blocks,” WhatsApp said in its monthly report.

These monthly reports are submitted by all social media companies in compliance with the Information Technology Rules of 2021. The IT Rules of 2021 require all social media intermediaries to publish a detailed report of the action they take on various users of their platforms, including detailing if they banned any accounts and the reasons for the same.

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