Why Are Social Media Companies Taking Such Strict Action? Why Have WhatsApp and Twitter Banned Lakhs Of Indian Accounts?
The most popular social media applications in India are Twitter and the instant messaging app WhatsApp. These internet behemoths often block problematic accounts in an effort to improve these programmes for everyone. Additionally, WhatsApp said in its most recent update that it has suspended 65,08,000 accounts in India in May. Twitter recently disclosed that it has terminated over 11 lakh accounts.
According to IT Rules, 2021, the Meta-owned app (as well as Twitter) publish a monthly report outlining the steps done to stifle malicious accounts on the site. The most recent publication included information on the actions done between May 1 and May 31.
“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,” WhatsApp said in the study.
Users’ demands and internal corrective actions led to the company’s decision to take this step. 297 appeals were pursued out of a total of 3,912 complaints that were received and included matters such as appeals for bans, account support, safety, and more. “Accounts Actioned” refers to either banning an account or unbanning an account that has previously been banned.
24.20.700 banned accounts out of the 65 lakh+ banned accounts were “proactively banned” without a complaint from WhatsApp users.
Twitter globally bans 11,000 accounts
The Elon Musk platform in May blocked a significant number of accounts in India in compliance with the guidelines established by the country’s authorities. The firm responded to user reports on the site and complaints made to its Grievance Officer in India about abuse, harassment, child sexual exploitation, offensive behaviour, sensitive adult material, defamation, and other concerns.
Between April 26 and May 25, Twitter suspended a total of 11,32,228 accounts and 1,843 accounts for supporting terrorism throughout the world.
