In August, the messaging app WhatsApp had banned over 20 lakh accounts in India. According to the monthly compliance report, WhatsApp got 420 grievance reports during August.
The primary reason behind the ban of 20,70,000 accounts was the unauthorized use of automated or many messages.
WhatsApp compliance data showed that it received 420 user reports spanning across the account support (105), ban appeal (222), other support (34), product support (42), and safety (17) during August.
However, WhatsApp took remedial action against only 41 accounts out of 421 reports it received.
WhatsApp in its support page revealed that when it gets the user complaints through the grievance channel, the messaging app deploys tools and resources to prevent harmful behaviour on the platform.
WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement that the user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp and WhatsApp’s preventive actions to combat abuse on the platform.
Users Violating Policies & Guidelines
The accounts that were found violating the guidelines or the messaging app. WhatsApp took action against the violating accounts based on the reports and complaints received through the grievances channels. The top focus of the WhatsApp team is preventing accounts from sending harmful or unwanted messages at scale.
The team maintains advanced capabilities to identify these accounts sending a high or abnormal rate of messages. Most users who reach out to the group either aim to have their account restored following an action to ban them or reach out for product or account support.
Earlier, WhatsApp had revealed that it had banned over 3 million accounts in 46 days. The accounts were banned between June 16 and July 31 to prevent online abuse and keep users safe on the platform.
WhatsApp took action against the violating accounts based on the reports and complaints received through the grievances channels.
WhatsApp maintains a record of accounts with a high or abnormal rate of messages and bans millions of such accounts attempting this kind of abuse in India and across the world.
Over 95% of accounts that engage in automated or bulk messaging face bans in India. “The abuse detection operates at three stages of an account’s lifestyle: at registration, during messaging, and in response to negative feedback, which we receive in the form of user reports and blocks.
A team of analysts augments these systems to evaluate edge cases and help improve our effectiveness over time”, the report by the Company.
At the end of July, Google said that it removed over 1.5 lakh pieces of content based on complaints received in May and June, and over 98% of these were related to copyright.
