The minister’s views are more relevant given the significant increase in foreign spam calls WhatsApp users in India have encountered.
A notification on spam calls from unidentified international numbers will be sent to WhatsApp by the Union Information and Technology Ministry. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for IT, said this on Thursday. He argued that it is the responsibility of the internet platforms to ensure user safety.
Digital platforms are responsible for ensuring the security of “digital nagriks,” according to the minister, and the government will take appropriate action in the event of any suspected abuse or violation of users’ privacy.
Given the large recent spike in international spam calls that WhatsApp users in India have experienced, the minister’s comments take on greater relevance. According to multiple users on Twitter, the majority of these spam calls contained the following country codes: Indonesia (+62), Vietnam (+84), Malaysia (+60), Kenya (+254), and Ethiopia (+251).
WhatsApp answered the Center’s call in the interim. According to a WhatsApp representative, Meta and WhatsApp are both committed to maintaining users’ security and privacy.
The social media corporation declared in a formal statement that “our users are at the core of all we do and we are entirely aligned with the Government’s goal of keeping users secure. When it comes to user protection, WhatsApp is a pioneer among end-to-end encrypted platforms.
“We continue to actively weed out bad actors from our platform, as well as provide a number of safety options within WhatsApp like Block & Report. We also continuously improve user safety education and awareness. However, dishonest people employ numerous strategies to con users. International fraud calls are a newer tactic used by criminals. By leaving a missed call, they tempt consumers to return their call or message and con them.
“As a result, we swiftly increased the power of our AI and ML algorithms to drastically reduce similar events. Our increased enforcement will at least halve the current calling rate, and we anticipate being able to properly manage the present incident. We’ll keep pushing forward nonstop to give our users a secure experience.”
