Why WhatsApp Banned Over 8 Million Indian Accounts In A Month? Three Factors That Meta Considers

New Delhi: WhatsApp, instant messaging platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, banned over 8 million Indian accounts in just one month. According to reports, the ban took place between August 1 and August 31 last year.

Why WhatsApp banned over 8 million accounts?

A Meta report revealed that the action against these accounts was taken after multiple complaints of scams, suspicious activities and fraudulent behaviour were reported against them. In its report, Meta took action on the basis of:

User complaints

If there are repeated complaints against a particular account including harassment, abuse or inappropriate behaviour, it can push Meta to ban the account.

Illegal activities

If WhatsApp witnesses any illegal activities related to the account or if they are violating local laws, then also it can lead to the banning of the account.

Violation of Terms of Service

Violation of terms of service means if an account is violating rules like sending like bulk messages, spamming, fraudulent activities, the accounts are subjected to be blocked.

WhatsApp Scams 

With the advancement of social media and availability of loads of instant messaging apps in the technology market, the frequency of online frauds have witnessed a huge surge.

Many WhatsApp accounts in the past have been found practicing fraudulent activities including luring people for financial gains, launching fake campaigns, inciting public order among others. In such cases also, action can be taken against trouble maker accounts.

As these risks continues to persist in today’s high-tech age, WhatsApp received over 10,000 user complaints and based on that, the action was taken against 93 per cent of them.