Massive WhatsApp Account Bans in India: Over 71 Lakh Users Penalized for Policy Breaches in November
WhatsApp Responds to Grievances: Addressing User Complaints and Tribunal Orders in November 2023
In November of the preceding year, WhatsApp disclosed the banishment of over 71 lakh accounts in India, as detailed in its most recent monthly report. The messaging platform, under the umbrella of Meta, revealed that over 19 lakh accounts in India faced proactive bans—actions taken by the company before receiving any user-reported policy breaches. Alongside these proactive measures, WhatsApp also addressed a fraction of the 8,000+ grievances lodged by users during the same month, as outlined in the firm’s comprehensive report.
According to WhatsApp’s report, published in adherence to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules (2021), the platform executed bans on 71,96,000 accounts between November 1 and November 30 of the previous year. Notably, these banned accounts were linked to phone numbers using the +91 international prefix within the messaging platform’s domain.
Of the aggregated banned accounts, WhatsApp actively took down 19,54,000 accounts without requiring user reports—a proactive stance against policy violations. While the platform offers users the option to report accounts, it simultaneously employs in-house abuse detection systems designed to proactively identify and tackle instances of policy contravention.
As per existing regulations, WhatsApp receives grievances from users via emails sent to [email protected] and via mail sent to the India Grievance Officer via post. The company says that reports related to account assistance, help with accessing features, service feedback, denied requests related to banned accounts, or accounts that did not violate the company’s terms and the laws of India.
In order to comply with the IT Rules (2021), WhatsApp said it acted on 6 requests — one related to ban appeals and the others related to miscellaneous support queries — received as grievances by the company’s Grievance Officer. In November 2023, the company received 8,841 grievances and complied with 8 orders received from the Grievance Appellate Committee during the same month.
