WhatsApp now limits forwards
Move by social messaging app to contain fake news menace
Under pressure from the government to take steps to prevent spreading of rumours, WhatsApp on Friday announced that its users in India would be able to forward messages to only five chats at once. The company said it will also remove the quick forward button next to media messages.
“We are launching a test to limit forwarding on WhatsApp. In India — where people forward more messages, photos, and videos, than any other country in the world — we’ll also test a lower limit of 5 chats at once and we’ll remove the quick forward button next to media messages,” said the company in a blog.
Currently, WhatsApp lets its subscribers forward a message to multiple chats at once. With more than 20 crore users, India is WhatsApp’s biggest market.
“We believe that these changes — which we’ll continue to evaluate — will help keep WhatsApp the way it was designed to be: a private messaging app,” it said. “We are deeply committed to your safety and privacy which is why WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, and we’ll continue to improve our app with features like this one,” it added. The company’s announcement came after a spate of mob lynchings in the country were linked to messages that circulated on Whatsapp groups.
The Centre which had already told WhatsApp to rein in misuse had said that it wanted more effective measures to ensure accountability and ease law enforcement. “When rumours and fake news get propagated by mischief mongers, the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility and accountability,” it had said. “If they remain mute spectators they are liable to be treated as abettors and thereafter face consequent legal action,” it had warned. Under pressure, WhatsApp last week had launched a new feature which would indicate which messages are forwards.
It helped user to determine if your friend or relative wrote the message they sent or if it originally came from someone else. The company had also brought out advertisements giving “easy tips” to detect fake messages.
New Delhi, July 20: WhatsApp has informed the Election Commission (EC) that it will take various steps ahead of polls to prevent the misuse of its messaging platform, and bring to India its fake news verification model which has been used in other markets.
Global executives of WhatsApp are already in India and engaging with policymakers on various issues that have been confronting the platform.
“WhatsApp recently engaged with the Election Commission and political organisers in India to discuss best practices for using WhatsApp — as well as how to prevent misuse ahead of the election next year,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in an email interview.
The spokesperson further said that WhatsApp was built for personal and small group conversations and it has “always taken a strong stand against spam of any kind by banning accounts attempting to abuse our system”.
A source said meanwhile that the messaging platform has told the EC that it will be watchful of spam messaging techniques ahead of the polls — both State and general elections.
The source said that officials from WhatsApp’s global team are in India and will be meeting policymakers over the next few days.
WhatsApp has also told the Election Commission that it will bring to India its fake news verification model, Verificado, that has already been used in Mexican elections and deployed in Brazil, the source said.
“This was recently used in Brazil in bringing 24 media outlets together to fact check viral content and rumours,” the source said.
Senior team of officials over the next few days also plan to engage with policymakers and government officials, the official said, but did not divulge any details.