Between August 1 and 31, the platform banned at least 7.4 million accounts in the country. Approximately 3.5 million of these accounts were proactively banned, even before any reports from users were received. The new Information Technology Rules of 2021 require social media companies to exercise greater diligence concerning the content hosted on their platforms.

WhatsApp’s monthly compliance report stated that it received 14,767 complaint reports in August in India. The messaging platform took action by either banning an account or lifting a ban on an account that had already been suspended in response to 71 of these reports.

The term “Accounts Actioned” refers to situations where WhatsApp took remedial action based on the report. Taking action signifies either banning an account or restoring a previously banned account.

WhatsApp noted that the user safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the company’s corresponding actions. It also includes the platform’s own preventive measures to tackle abuse.

The Meta-owned messaging app revealed that it received only one order from the Grievance Appellate Committee in August and complied with it. The government has recently established Grievance Appellate Committees to redress grievances users may have against how social media platforms initially addressed their complaints concerning content and other issues. The committee seeks to handle users’ appeals against decisions made by social media platforms.

Mobile numbers deactivated for copyright infringement

In a recent case, the Delhi High Court ordered the deactivation of specific mobile numbers on WhatsApp found to be distributing educational materials belonging to ‘Apna College’ without authorisation via the instant messaging platform.

Hearing a lawsuit filed by Jainemo Private Limited, which offers course materials and training to candidates for placements through the ‘Apna College’ platform, Justice Prathiba M Singh restrained several entities from downloading, uploading, sharing, or selling the plaintiff’s content on any electronic or digital platform.

The judge determined that the plaintiff holds ownership over the course materials under copyright law and directed that one of the WhatsApp groups dealing in such infringing material be “disbanded”.