Instant messaging platform WhatsApp on Dec. 22, said it banned 37.16 lakh accounts in India in November, about 60 per cent more than the accounts it barred in the preceding month. The banned WhatsApp accounts in India include 9.9 lakh accounts which were barred proactively before being flagged by users. In October, WhatsApp had banned 23.24 lakh accounts in the country, including 8.11 lakh accounts which were barred proactively. The tougher IT rules, which came into effect last year, mandate large digital platforms (with over 50 lakh users) to publish compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken. WhatsApp received higher number of appeals from user in November to ban accounts compared to October. It received 946 complaints in November from users, which included appeal to ban 830 accounts. It acted only against 73 accounts. WhatsApp said it responds to all grievances received except in cases where a grievance is deemed to be a duplicate of a previous ticket. An account is 'actioned' when it is banned or a previously banned account is restored, as a result of a complaint, the report said. In addition to responding to and actioning on user complaints through the grievance channel, WhatsApp deploys tools and resources to prevent harmful behavior on the platform, the report said.
