India's IT Ministry To Send Notice to WhatsApp Over Spam Calls, Messages

On the other hand, WhatsApp said in a statement that it would strengthen its AI systems to combat spam calls.

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Having taken cognizance of spam calls and messages received by several Indians on WhatsApp over the last few days, Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday, 11 May, that the IT Ministry will send a notice to the social media giant.

"The Ministry is taking note of it, they will send them a notice. I have said repeatedly that openness trust, safety and accountability are the responsibility of platforms who deliver to digital nagriks," Chandrasekhar said while addressing the press on the sidelines of a Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) event on Thursday.

Several WhatsApp users have reported that they received calls from unknown international numbers. These may include numbers from Ethiopia (+251), Malaysia (+60), Vietnam (+84), Indonesia (+62), Kenya (+254) and several other countries.

Chandrashekhar added that the government would respond to every alleged misuse or breach of privacy. He also mentioned certain questions that he would like to pose to WhatsApp.

"How are they able to identify which numbers are on WhatsApp? Are they doing it blindly? Is it some database they have got? If there is a database it is a violation of privacy, or if not are they are doing it through a bot? That is certainly something platforms will be asked to look at," the minister said.

WhatsApp's Response To the Spam Calls, Messages

Acknowledging the privacy concerns of several people in India, WhatsApp said in an official statement that it was aware of the fraudulent communications that people were receiving, and would strengthen their Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to combat it.

"We have ramped up our AI & ML systems... Our new enforcement will reduce the current calling rate by at least 50 per cent and we expect to be able to control the current incidence effectively. We will continue to work relentlessly towards ensuring a safe experience for our users," the Meta-owned company said in a statement, according to India Today.

The scam came to light after a large number of people took to social media platforms to share their experiences. As more and more people across the country did so, the widespread nature of the scam became evident.

Meanwhile, experts have suggested ways to remain safe on the platform.

While they claim that answering a call from the scammers or calling back doesn't seem to be risky, as it might be an automated bot initiating the calls rather than actual people, they have said that blocking and reporting such numbers is the best way to remain secure.

(With inputs from India Today.)