WhatsApp has banned over 3 million Indian accounts from its platform between June and July 2021, a new compliance report by the social media platform revealed. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp all released their monthly compliance reports on August 31 as mandated by the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Overall, the reports show an increase in the amount of content that the platforms have flagged (through their automated systems) and taken action against as well as the number of user grievances received as compared to their earlier report which covered May and June 2021. These monthly reports show that major social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp are looking to stay in compliance with the requirements of the IT Rules as failure to do so could lead to platforms losing immunity under the IT Act 2000. Content moderation by WhatsApp The 3 million accounts banned by WhatsApp from its platform were done through automatic detection and in-app reporting by its users. However this number, WhatsApp said, does not include the number of user grievances received through emails and mails by WhatsApp's Grievance Officer in India, Paresh B. Lal. WhatsApp received 594 user grievances across topics of Account support, Ban appeal, Product support, Safety, and others. Out of the 594 grievances, 74 were actioned which, according to the report, could mean banning an account or restoring a previously banned one. The rest of the 490 were not actioned against due to one or more of the following reasons: The user…
