The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued a formal notice to WhatsApp, demanding an explanation regarding its newly introduced username feature. The government has directed the Meta-owned platform to halt the rollout of this update, which allows users to connect via unique usernames instead of phone numbers, until official consultations are concluded to the state’s satisfaction.
The government raised the alarm that the feature could drastically escalate identity theft, digital arrest scams, and impersonation. “It is felt that the feature may materially increase the incidence of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks, by enabling bad actors to solicit and message victims,” the notice stated. It added that bad actors could adopt handles closely mirroring public authorities or financial institutions. The ministry has questioned why regulatory action should not be pursued under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021.
Defending the privacy upgrade, a WhatsApp spokesperson stated that security safeguards are integrated directly into the system. “To protect against impersonation, we’ve held the highest-profile names — think public figures, government entities, celebrities, verified Meta accounts — so they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners, rs and lookalike derivatives of known names are held as well,” the spokesperson clarified, noting that exact matches are required to initiate contact.
