WhatsApp username row: Meta submits reply to notice, response under examination
Follow UsMeta has submitted its reply to the government's notice over its WhatsApp username feature.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is now examining the company's response.
WhatsApp username feature will let users chat without sharing their phone numbers.
Meta has submitted its reply to the government’s notice over its WhatsApp username feature. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is now examining the company’s response, reports PTI, citing sources. The government sent the notice last week over concerns that the feature can make online scams and impersonation easier. It also asked WhatsApp not to launch the feature in India until discussions with the government were completed.
SurveyFor those unaware, WhatsApp username feature will let users chat without sharing their phone numbers. Instead, people will be able to connect using a unique username. Officials are worried that scammers may create usernames similar to those of real people, government departments or trusted organisations. They fear this can lead to more phishing, impersonation and other cyber frauds.
After receiving the notice, WhatsApp requested more time to submit its response. The company also assured the government that it would not roll out the feature in India until consultations were complete. Sources now told PTI that the reply has been received and is being examined by the IT ministry.
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On Thursday, IT Secretary S Krishnan said WhatsApp’s response was expected that day. When asked about notices sent to Telegram and Signal, which already offer username-based messaging, he said, “There is still a little more time, so the replies have not yet been received…. We will examine this issue.”
Last week, a Meta team also met officials from the IT ministry to explain how the feature works.
“To protect against impersonation, we have held the highest-profile names – think public figures, government entities, celebrities, verified Meta accounts – so they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners, and lookalike derivatives of known names are held as well,” the spokesperson had said, as per the report.
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Users will still need a phone number to create a WhatsApp account, according to the company. “Other users need to know the exact username to message you. We will limit how many new people an account can contact, block repeated attempts to guess someone’s username key and have systems to detect and remove activity showing common impersonation and abuse patterns,” Meta had said.
WhatsApp also clarified that users will receive safety information before replying to a message from someone they have not chatted with before. This will include the sender’s country, whether the account is newly created and whether both users are part of any common groups.
