As per WhatsApp India’s ‘User Safety Monthly Report’ under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2022, WhatsApp messenger banned over 7.4 million accounts in India during April 2023. This is the highest number of accounts banned by WhatsApp in India in a single month.
The number of accounts blocked in April 2023 was significantly higher as compared to the 4.7 million accounts that the messaging platform banned in March 2023. The accounts were banned on the basis of complaints received from users through its grievances division and the company’s own mechanism to prevent and detect law violators.
As per the report, between April 1, 2023 and April 30, 2023, 7,452,500 WhatsApp accounts were banned and 2,469,700 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users. With nearly 500 million users, WhatsApp received a staggering 4,377 complaint reports in April 2023 alone. The company took action on 234 of these reported cases.
The company’s compliance report also mentioned that it received two orders from the Grievance Appellate Committee during the same period, both of which were promptly complied with. The newly-formed committee, established to enhance digital regulations and empower Indian social media users, allows users to appeal decisions made by social media platforms.
