According to the detailed monthly compliance report to be filed under the new IT rules, messaging platform WhatsApp has banned nearly 18 lakh accounts in its fight against abuse on the platform in the month of March.
WhatsApp banned 14.26 lakh Indian accounts during February.
The new IT rules – which came into force last year – require large digital platforms (with over 50 lakh users) to publish compliance reports every month, detailing complaints received and action taken.
“WhatsApp is an industry leader in preventing abuse between end-to-end encrypted messaging services. Over the years, we have continually invested in Artificial Intelligence and other cutting-edge technology, data scientists and experts and processes, to help our users in our to be safe on the platform,” a spokesperson said on Monday.
The action was taken following various complaints received from users in India through various mechanisms of the Platform or through its prevention and detection methods for violation of the laws of India or WhatsApp’s Terms of Service.
In March 2022, 597 complaints were reported and 74 accounts were “actioned”.
Of the total reports received, 407 were related to ‘ban appeals’, while others were in the categories of account support, product support and security.
In addition to responding to and taking action on user complaints through the complaint channel, WhatsApp also deploys tools and resources to prevent harmful behavior on the platform.
Abuse detection on WhatsApp operates in three phases of an account’s lifestyle: during registration, during messaging, and in response to negative feedback, which it receives in the form of user reports and blocks.
A team of analysts enhances these systems to evaluate edge cases and help us improve our effectiveness over time.