WhatsApp Cracks Down in India: Over 7 Crore Accounts Banned in 2023

WhatsApp revealed that it banned nearly 7 crore accounts in India between January and November 2023, as per its monthly reports. This initiative by the Meta-owned platform coincides with the Lok Sabha elections, during which it is intensifying efforts to investigate instances of fraud and unauthorized telemarketing on its platform. 

The company aims to adhere to Rule 4(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021). As part of its transparency measures, WhatsApp has been consistently releasing monthly reports specific to India.

As per WhatsApp, the “reports are published in accordance with Rule 4(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021). These reports contain information on actions taken by WhatsApp in response to: Grievances received from users in India via the grievance mechanisms of WhatsApp; Accounts actioned in India through our prevention and detection methods for violating the laws of India or WhatsApp’s Terms of Service.”

7,954,000 accounts on WhatsApp were banned between March 1 and March 31. WhatsApp blocked 69,307,254 accounts up until November 31 of last year, according to a report the firm provided in January 2024.

WhatsApp banned 2,918,000 accounts in January of last year. In February, 4,715,906 accounts were banned, in March, 7,452,500 accounts were banned, in April, 6,508,000 accounts in May, 6,611,700 accounts in June, 7,228,000 accounts in July, 7,420,748 accounts in August, 71,11,000 accounts in September, 7,548,000 accounts in October, and 7,196,000 accounts in November.