WhatsApp banned record 22 million accounts in first quarter of 2024

The messaging app has the highest user base in India with more than 500 million active users

Messaging giant WhatsApp banned a record 22.31 million accounts from its platform in India during the first quarter of 2024 against the 12.23 million accounts the Meta-owned company blocked in the same period last year.

The messaging platform has over 500 million active users in the country - the highest in the world.

According to WhatsApp, the bans were implemented in line with Rule 4(1)(d) and Rule 3A(7) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The platform said the action on these accounts was taken in response to grievances received from users in India via its different grievance mechanisms.

The company also removed accounts for violating the laws of India or WhatsApp’s Terms of Service, through the prevention and detection methods of the platform. WhatsApp banned some 70 million accounts in India between January and November of 2023, according to data published in the messaging app’s monthly report.

WhatsApp has also set up a high-priority channel with the Election Commission of India (ECI) as part of an industry initiative and observes the voluntary code of ethics to assist the top electoral body in conducting free and transparent elections.

“We pay close attention to user feedback and engage with specialists in stemming misinformation, promoting cybersecurity, and preserving election integrity,” said the company.

In March this year, WhatsApp took action against 7.9 million accounts. In 2023, it banned 2.9 million accounts in January, followed by 4.5 million in February, 4.7 million in March, 7.4 million in April, 6.5 million in May, 6.6 million in June, 7.2 million in July, 7.4 million in August, 7.1 million in September, 7.5 million in October, 7.1 million in November, 6.9 million in December. Overall, the company banned around 75 million accounts in 2023.

"The data shared highlights the number of Indian accounts banned by WhatsApp…using the aforementioned abuse detection approach, which also includes action taken in furtherance to negative feedback received from users," WhatsApp said.

"'Accounts Actioned' denotes reports where we took remedial action based on the report. Taking action denotes either banning an account or a previously banned account being restored as a result of the complaint," it said