Security and monitoring have to be and have remained a top priority of the social media giants. Each of them, whether Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp, have separate community guidelines. Although there have been conversations in the recent past around how regulated these platforms are, this time, WhatsApp has taken significant steps. It has banned 2 million Indian accounts, receiving 345 grievance reports between May 15 and June 15- mandated by the IT rules.
The new IT rules urge substantial social media platforms with more than five million users to publish compliance reports every month. Detailing the complaints, they have received and the action they have taken.
With an increase in regulation and sophistication of these systems, the bans have risen since 2019. WhatsApp said that accounts are banned proactively irrespective of user reports. Nonetheless, such information received by the grievance channel is answered. It clarified that 95% of these accounts are banned due to unauthorized use of bulk messaging (spam). On average, around eight million accounts are disabled globally in a month.
So how does WhatsApp regulate these accounts? WhatsApp says that apart from the accounts’ behavioural signals, “unencrypted information” plays a significant role. This includes user reports, profile photos, group photos and descriptions, advanced AI tools to detect and prevent abuse.
WhatsApp “actioned” 63 accounts between May 15- June 15, 2021. This means that WhatsApp took remedial actions based on these reports. According to the complaint filed, this action can be two things- either banning an account or restoring a previously banned account.
In all, taking such actions is crucial to every social media biggie. According to new IT rules, any non-compliance with these rules can make them fall headfirst. They can lose their intermediary status. Failing this means losing immunity from the liabilities of hosting third party data.
The whole scenario suggests that brands should have a verified business WhatsApp account to connect with their customers. i-engage is a leading WhatsApp Commerce company in Central India that helps set a verified WhatsApp Account for businesses and WhatsApp automation to convert prospects into customers. Conversational commerce is a revolution that will take feedback and customer relationship management to the next level. Want to know how WhatsApp Commerce can revolutionize your business? Chat with us on WhatsApp: 8839101954
