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Messaging app WhatsApp banned more than 65 lakh bad accounts in India in May, with over 24 lakh being banned before they were reported.

The Meta-owned company released its monthly India compliance report dated May 1 to May 31, 2023, in line with Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 on July 1.

The report highlights grievances received from users in India and accounts actioned on violating the country’s laws.

WhatsApp received ban pleas for more than 3,400 accounts in May and action was taken on 280 of them. A total of 3,912 grievances were recorded, with 297 of them actioned in the period, the report said.

The social networking app banned fewer bad accounts in May compared to over 74 lakhs in April.

‘The abuse detection operates at three stages of an account’s lifestyle: at registration, during messaging, and in response to negative feedback, which we receive in the form of user reports and blocks. A team of analysts augments these systems to evaluate edge cases and help improve our effectiveness over time,” the report noted.

In June 2021, WhatsApp named Paresh B Lal as its grievance officer for India on its website.