WhatsApp bans record 74 lakh accounts in India to combat abuse

Meta-owned WhatsApp in April 2023 banned over 70 lakh accounts in India, making it the highest bans in the country in a single month. According to earlier reports WhatsApp had banned close to 2 billion active users on a monthly basis.

The messaging app bans accounts that are in violation of its policies and its terms of service that include rules against misinformation, hate speech and spam. The company also takes action against the accounts that are used to commit fraud or other crimes.

According to the details that were revealed in the Monthly Report filed by the company as part of the Information Technology Rules in 2021, in April WhatsApp had banned over 2.46 lakh accounts without any user complaints. The remaining accounts were banned after the meta-owned company received complaints from WhatsApp users.

When does WhatsApp ban accounts?

The company said that it bans certain accounts without complaints or with a proactive approach in order to protect the users from harmful behavior and content. It further added that WhatsApp is constantly working to improve its detection and prevention mechanisms for harmful content.

WhatsApp has also said that it will continue to take action against accounts that violate its terms of service and protect its users.