WhatsApp, controlled by social media platform Meta, has given information in its monthly report about the actions taken on user complaints, violations of laws and terms of use of its service. This report also details the steps taken to stop harassment on WhatsApp. This report is for the month of October. Under the new IT rules implemented in the country about two years ago, social media platforms have to submit such monthly reports. WhatsApp received a total of 9,063 reports in October. Of these, maximum 4,771 were for appeal of ban. Other reports were related to account support, product support and safety. The company had received five orders from the Grievances Appellate Committee (GAC) in October. All these have been followed. WhatsApp had received six orders from the Grievances Appellate Committee in September. Indian accounts on WhatsApp are identified by the country code ‘+91’.
Recently a new feature of WhatsApp Channels was launched. It has said that its channel feature has crossed the figure of 50 crore monthly active users. This is a one-way broadcast tool. This means that whoever creates his WhatsApp channel can send information related to him to his followers. However, followers cannot communicate with him directly. Text, photos, videos, stickers and polls can be sent through WhatsApp channel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also associated with this feature. His channel is followed by lakhs of users. This feature can be an important way for politicians to connect with people before the Lok Sabha elections next year. This feature has been made available in a new tab called Updates. It can be used by Android, iOS and desktop users. The number of users on WhatsApp has increased rapidly in the last few years.