WhatsApp has announced that from December 7, 2019 it will start taking legal action against people and companies that violate its terms of service by, say, sending automated or bulk messages, or engaging in "non-personal use". Notably, WhatsApp said it would take action even if an entity merely made public claims of an ability to abuse its platform - in ads, for example. Until now, WhatsApp has only taken action against abuses for which it had found evidence on the platform itself. This development is set to have major ramifications in India - one of WhatsApp's key markets with more than 200 million monthly active users - where abuse of the platform is rampant. After rumours on WhatsApp sparked a spate of lynchings last year, the government proposed amendments to the Intermediary Liability Rules to better hold companies responsible for the content exchanged…
