India has directed Meta-owned WhatsApp to pause the rollout of its planned username feature in India and to provide an explanation within three days, according to a government notice reviewed in reporting.
The notice says the usernames—intended to let people reserve unique identifiers and eventually message others using usernames without disclosing phone numbers—could increase the incidence of online fraud, phishing attacks, “digital arrest” scams, and impersonation by giving bad actors more ways to contact and deceive victims.
The government also argued the feature could facilitate identity spoofing, including impersonation of individuals and institutions such as public authorities and financial or government agencies, by allowing usernames that closely resemble legitimate names.
WhatsApp was asked to explain why it should not face regulatory action under India’s Information Technology Act, including intermediary-related rules and obligations tied to due diligence and misuse prevention.
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