E-Paper
Will raise efforts to counter spam calls: WhatsApp; govt seeks probe
The intervention comes at a time when complaints from users of international spam calls have increased.
The Union government on Thursday said it will send a notice to the messaging and calling service WhatsApp to look into the growing menace of international spam calls, terming it as misuse and breach of users’ privacy.
The intervention comes at a time when complaints from users of international spam calls have increased, and some users have posted lists of unrecognised numbers from several different country codes on social media platforms such as Twitter.
Read | How to handle spam international calls on WhatsApp? Meta explains
“Digital platforms are responsible and accountable for ensuring the safety of ‘digital nagriks,” the junior minister for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters on Thursday, adding that the government will respond to every instance of alleged misuse or alleged breach of users’ privacy.
Also read | Singapore think tank takes note of fake calls to Indian experts, journalists in suspected China op
“I have said repeatedly that openness trust, safety and accountability are the responsibility of platforms who deliver to digital nagriks,” the minister noted. “If there is an issue of spam, it is certainly an issue WhatsApp should look at or any messenger platform should look at, he added.Government will respond to every alleged misuse or alleged breach of privacy,” headded.
The minister also said that the government will issue a notice to WhatsApp and seek an explanation.
India is among countries hit hardest by spam calls and messages. Caller ID service application Truecaller said Indians were, among people of 20 countries, the ninth most-affected, being targeted by spam calls, according to a set of data it released in 2021.
WhatsApp, which has close to 500 million users in India, said in a statement that it has quickly ramped up its artificial intelligence and machine learning systemsto bring down such incidents. “Our new enforcement will reduce the current calling rate by at least 50% and we expect to be able to control the current incidence effectively. We will continue to work relentlessly towards ensuring a safe experience for our users,” the statement said.
“Protecting the privacy and security of users is fundamental to Meta and to WhatsApp. Our users are at the heart of everything we do and we are fully aligned with the Government’s goal of keeping users safe. WhatsApp is a leader among end-to-end encrypted services in protecting user safety,” the WhatsApp statement added.
It said that it will consistently build user safety education and awareness, as well as, proactively weed out bad actors from its platform. “However, bad actors find different ways to scam users. International scam calls is a new way that bad actors have recently adopted. By giving a missed call, they lead curious users to call or message back only to get scammed,” the company statement said.
In 2021, the government had announced that it would take strict action against spam and financial frauds that are perpetrated over phone calls and text messages, the communications ministry had indicated.