New Delhi — Meta-owned WhatsApp has submitted its response to the Centre’s notice on its proposed username feature, and the government is reviewing the reply, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had issued a notice to WhatsApp last week, raising concerns that the feature could lead to an increase in online fraud, phishing, “digital arrest” scams and impersonation attacks.
The government also directed WhatsApp not to launch the username feature in India until consultations on the matter are completed to its satisfaction.
The proposed feature would allow users to connect and communicate on WhatsApp without sharing their mobile phone numbers, offering an additional layer of privacy.
After receiving the notice, WhatsApp sought more time to submit its response and assured the Centre that it would not roll out the feature in India until discussions with authorities were concluded.
People familiar with the matter said the IT Ministry has now received WhatsApp’s response and is examining the company’s submissions. WhatsApp has not issued an official statement on the response.
Earlier this week, IT Secretary S. Krishnan said WhatsApp’s reply to the government’s notice was due Thursday. Speaking on the sidelines of the CII GCC Business Summit in New Delhi, he also said similar notices had been issued to Telegram and Signal over their username features.
“We will await the formal response to the notice that we have issued, and thereafter we will take a view based on what the response is,” Krishnan said.
Asked whether the other platforms had responded, Krishnan said they still had time to submit their replies and that the government would examine the issue after receiving their responses.
Separately, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had instructed ministry officials to summon Meta and seek an explanation over the alleged presence of child sexual abuse material in advertisements on Instagram. (Source: IANS)
