Need partnership to curb false messages: WhatsApp to Indian government
So far this year, false messages about child abductors on WhatsApp have helped to trigger mass beatings of more than a dozen people in India - at least three of whom have died
Facebook's WhatsApp messenger has told India that curbing the spread of false messages through its platform is a challenge that required a partnership between the tech firm, civil society and the government.
In a letter dated July 3 to India's IT ministry, WhatsApp said it is giving people controls and information they need to stay safe as well as making changes to group chats to prevent the spread of unwanted information.
The firm also plans to run long-term public safety ad campaigns in India, it said in the letter.
India's IT ministry on Tuesday asked WhatsApp messenger to take steps to prevent the circulation of false texts and provocative content that have led to a series of lynchings and mob beatings across the country in the past few months.
With more than 200 million users in India, WhatsApp's biggest market in the world, false news and videos circulating on the messaging app have become a new headache for social media giant Facebook, already grappling with a privacy scandal.
So far this year, false messages about child abductors on WhatsApp have helped to trigger mass beatings of more than a dozen people in India - at least three of whom have died.
In addition, five people were beaten to death by a mob on Sunday in a fresh incident of lynching in India's western state of Maharashtra on suspicions that they were child abductors.
(With inputs from Reuters)