Meta is once again making headlines as concerns around its platforms continue to rise in India. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) asked the company to pause the rollout of WhatsApp’s username feature in the country. The officials believe the feature could make it easier for scammers to hide their identity and trick people online. While that issue is still being discussed, Meta is now dealing with another challenge. According to a new report, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed MeitY officials to summon the company over Instagram advertisements.
According to PTI, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed MeitY officials to summon Meta over Instagram advertisements that allegedly promoted child sexual abuse material. Sources said the ministry will ask the company to explain how such advertisements appeared on Instagram and what steps were taken to prevent them.
The government recently raised concerns about Meta’s plan to launch usernames on WhatsApp. The feature would allow people to connect without sharing their phone numbers. According to the government, this could make it more difficult to identify fraudsters. Officials are worried that scammers may create usernames that look similar to those of real people, government departments or trusted organisations. A team from Meta reportedly met officials in the IT Ministry after receiving a notice regarding the feature.
After concerns were raised, WhatsApp shared a detailed explainer of the feature on X. The company said usernames will be optional and not compulsory. It also clarified that users will not be able to find someone simply by searching for a username. “Just like you can’t search for a phone number in WhatsApp, you can’t search for a username.”
WhatsApp advised users to choose a unique username and enable a username key as an extra layer of security. The company also said username-based messaging is not available yet. When it launches later this year, users will see safety information before replying to a new person. This will include the sender’s country, whether the account is newly created and whether both users share any common groups.
To reduce impersonation, WhatsApp said well-known names and their variations, including those of public figures, celebrities, government organisations and Meta Verified accounts, have been reserved for their legitimate owners.
“People are making false claims about reserving popular or well-known usernames – this isn’t true. We enabled reservations before usernames launch later this year because we think people will feel strongly about what username they want on WhatsApp. We’re taking our time and listening to feedback so that when it rolls out later this year we get it right,” the company clarified.