India has threatened WhatsApp over its new unique ID feature
The Indian government has asked WhatsApp’s management to suspend the rollout of a new feature that involves the use of unique usernames. The country’s authorities want a detailed explanation regarding the security of the new feature and its potential impact on the protection of personal data.
Indian officials emphasize that the company must provide convincing arguments in favor of the new mechanism’s security. If the requirements are not met or the explanations prove insufficient, the authorities do not rule out taking legal action against the messaging app.
Earlier, Meta announced the start of a phased global rollout of a feature that allows users to create unique nicknames and communicate within the messaging app without revealing their phone number. However, the Indian regulator gave the company three days to respond and banned the rollout of the update within the country until official government consultations are completed.
For WhatsApp, India is the world’s largest market, with an audience of over 500 million users. This conflict is forcing the tech giant to choose between complying with government requirements and maintaining its global privacy strategy.
The Fight Against Anonymity and the Threat of Cybercrime
The Indian government’s intervention is a continuation of its strict policy of controlling global technology platforms. A few weeks ago, the country temporarily blocked the Telegram messaging app precisely because of similar concerns regarding user anonymity.
The Indian government’s main arguments against WhatsApp’s new feature:
Rising levels of fraud: A letter to the company’s headquarters states that hiding phone numbers could lead to a surge in online fraud, phishing, and cases of impersonation.
Hindered investigations: India’s Ministry of Home Affairs emphasizes that number-hiding tools prevent law enforcement agencies from identifying cybercriminals.
Legal pressure: Authorities are relying on local IT legislation. If the platform ignores the government’s due diligence rules, it loses its legal immunity and bears direct responsibility for user content.
This is reported with reference to data from Reuters.
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