Online scams have been a pressing issue over the years as connectivity and communication have improved and digitalised. As such the cases of online scams are also on the riseIn an effort to ban the rising online scams in India, WhatsApp has banned more than 72 lakh accounts in India between July 1 and July 31, in compliance with the new IT Rules 2021.Details of Meta reportThe Meta-owned messaging app released its Monthly India Report for the month of September which included the announcement of the ban and detailed detailing the number of accounts it banned in the country, the number of reports received, and the action taken on the account.According to the reports issued, it stated “We are an industry leader among end-to-end encrypted messaging services in preventing and combating abuse. In addition to our safety features and controls, we employ a team of engineers, data scientists, analysts, researchers, and experts in law enforcement, online safety, and technology developments to oversee these efforts.”The company further stated that they enable users to block contacts and to report problematic content and contact them from within the app.“We pay close attention to user feedback and engage with specialists in stemming misinformation, promoting Cybersecurity, and preserving election integrity,” the company said.WhatsApp bans 72 lakh accounts The company said that out of the 7,228,000 banned WhatsApp accounts, 3,108,000 accounts were banned even before users reported them.Moreover, the company mentioned that the orders received from the Grievance Appellate Committee between July 1 and July 31 were five, and orders complied with were also five.The Centre also recently launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to make millions of Indian social media users empowered. This Committee will look into their concerns regarding content and other issues.According to media reports the newly-formed panel is a move to strengthen the countrys digital laws to tame the Big Tech companies which will look into appeals by users against decisions of social media platforms.In a major push towards an open, safe, trusted, and accountable Internet, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has notified some amendments aimed at protecting the rights of Digital Nagriks.
