Guwahati: The business said that instant messaging service WhatsApp suspended 26.85 lakh accounts in India in September, including 8.72 lakh accounts that were blocked proactively before being reported by users on Tuesday.
Over the 23.28 lakh accounts the messaging platform banned in August, there were 15% more blocked accounts in September.
“2,685,000 WhatsApp accounts were blocked between September 1 and September 30, 2022. Before any user complaints were received, 872,000 of these accounts were proactively banned. A +91 phone number can be used to identify an Indian account “In its “User Safety Report” for the month of September, Whatsapp stated.
Large digital platforms (with more than 50 lakh users) are required by the stricter IT regulations, which went into effect last year, to produce compliance reports each month that include information about complaints received and actions taken.
Large social media companies have faced criticism in the past for the fake news, hate speech, and disinformation that circulated on their platforms. Concerns about digital platforms acting arbitrarily in removing information and “de-platforming” people have often been raised by some sectors.
Last Monday, the government unveiled regulations for establishing a grievance appeal process against the arbitrary content moderation, inaction or takedown choices of major tech firms.
According to the latest WhatsApp report, the platform received 666 grievances in September but took action only against 23.
“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. We are particularly focused on prevention because we believe it is much better to stop harmful activity from happening in the first place than to detect it after harm has occurred,” the company said.