WhatsApp Takes Action on 5% of User Grievances in India, Blocks Over 74 Lakh Accounts

Mobile messaging platform WhastApp took action on about 5 per cent grievances it received in April, the company's India monthly report under IT rules said on Thursday.

The report, released on Thursday, revealed that WhatsApp had blocked a staggering 74,52,500 Indian accounts during that month. Out of the total blocked accounts, 2,469,700 were proactively banned by the platform even before receiving any user reports.

In April, WhatsApp received a total of 4,377 user complaints. However, it took action on only 234 of those complaints, which accounts for approximately 5% of the overall grievances received. The report also disclosed that WhatsApp received 4,100 appeals to ban specific accounts, but it acted upon only 223 of those appeals.

"We respond 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 an account is banned or a previously banned account is restored, as a result of a complaint," stated the report, clarifying the platform's approach to addressing user grievances.

The WhatsApp report further revealed that the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) had issued two orders to the company, and WhatsApp duly complied with both of them. The GAC serves as an avenue for users who are dissatisfied with the resolution provided by social media platforms to file complaints.

As WhatsApp continues to navigate the complexities of content moderation and user grievances in compliance with the IT rules in India, the company's actions and response to user complaints will remain under scrutiny.