WhatsApp banned over 36 lakh Indian accounts in December. "Between 1 December 2022 and 31 December 2022, 3,677,000 WhatsApp accounts were banned. 1,389,000 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users," WhatsApp said in its India Monthly Report for December published under the Information Technology Rules 2021.
“In addition to responding to and actioning on user complaints through the grievance channel, WhatsApp deploys tools and resources to prevent harmful behaviour on the platform,” the report said.
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The government last week announced three grievance appeal committees to handle user complaints against large social media companies from March 1.
WhatsApp user appeals in December jumped by about 70 per cent to 1,607, including requests to ban 1,459 accounts, compared to 946 complaints in November. The instant messaging platform took action against 166 appeals.
WhatsApp said it responds to all grievances received except in the case of duplicate tickets. An account is said to be 'actioned' when it is banned or when a previously banned account is restored following a complaint, the report said.
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