India requests WhatsApp to halt its usernames feature while discussions are ongoing.

India requests WhatsApp to halt its usernames feature while discussions are ongoing.

      India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has instructed WhatsApp to postpone the introduction of its planned usernames feature in the country until further discussions are held, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. The ministry, referred to as MeitY, has allowed Meta a three-day period to clarify why regulatory measures should not follow the feature's announcement.

      On June 29, WhatsApp announced that users would soon be able to secure a unique username, enabling conversations without the need to share a phone number. However, within 48 hours, MeitY had issued a formal notice requesting the company to halt the rollout “until the consultation on this point meets the Government's satisfaction.”

      The ministry expressed concerns over potential fraud. Its notice cautioned that usernames “may enable impersonation and identity spoofing, including impersonation of individuals, public authorities, financial institutions, and government agencies,” by allowing users to create handles that closely mimic those of legitimate institutions.

      This issue is part of a broader landscape of digital fraud schemes and phishing scams that Indian regulators have been striving to control over the past couple of years. A Meta spokesperson indicated that the feature is not yet available in India and that the company has preemptively reserved usernames resembling those of public figures, government bodies, and verified Meta accounts to prevent impersonation.

      It remains uncertain whether this precaution will address MeitY’s concerns, and the ministry’s letter does not suggest that simply having a reserved-name list would be sufficient to lift the suspension. This is not India's first confrontation regarding anonymity features in messaging apps.

      Earlier in June, Telegram contested a temporary nationwide ban in the Delhi High Court after the government claimed that channels on the app were used to sell leaked documents for the NEET medical entrance exam, and lost the case. During that litigation, officials specifically mentioned how username-based contacts and hidden phone numbers complicated law enforcement's ability to trace account ownership.

      This argument closely aligns with the objections currently raised against WhatsApp. However, WhatsApp holds a significantly more central position in India’s digital economy than Telegram did. It is one of Meta's most crucial markets worldwide, and the company has invested years in transforming the app from merely a messaging service into a commerce platform, recently taking a stake in the fintech company Cred and appointing its founder as WhatsApp’s new leader. A prolonged regulatory standoff over usernames would hinder that broader goal.

      Not everyone believes that MeitY has the legal authority to issue such an order in the first place. The Internet Freedom Foundation argues that the ministry is relying on Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, a safe harbor clause regarding platform liability, to undertake what amounts to product-design oversight, a power it claims is not granted by any statute.

      The foundation maintains that fraud and impersonation should be dealt with under existing criminal law instead of being preemptively blocked through feature restrictions. It has previously raised similar concerns regarding the ministry's application of traceability regulations to influence the development rather than the policing of messaging apps.

      This issue also unfolds against a backdrop of ongoing tension between Indian regulators and WhatsApp over the amount of oversight the government should have into the app's design decisions. Officials have urged the company to implement message traceability to combat misinformation, proposals that WhatsApp has resisted, arguing that they would compromise end-to-end encryption for all users, not just those under investigation.

      As of the letter's disclosure, WhatsApp usernames remain unavailable to users in India, and the three-day timeline set by the ministry provides a clear indication of the imminent next steps.

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India requests WhatsApp to halt its usernames feature while discussions are ongoing.

India's IT ministry has instructed WhatsApp to pause its usernames feature and to provide an explanation within three days regarding how it will prevent fraud, as indicated in a letter.