WhatsApp Banned 99.6 Lakh Accounts In January 2025

SUMMARY

WhatsApp said that the accounts were banned for violating its terms of service, complaints from local users and orders received from the grievance appellate committee

WhatsApp also received 9,474 user complaints in January 2025, related to ban appeals, account support requests, and other grievances

IT Rules, 2021 mandate social media platforms to file monthly reports and disclose details on their content moderation efforts

Messaging platform WhatsApp banned more than 99.67 Lakh Indian accounts in January 2025, as per its monthly transparency report.

The Meta-owned platform said that the accounts were banned for violating its terms of service, complaints from local users and orders received from the grievance appellate committee (GAC).

Of the total, more than 13% (or 13.27 Lakh accounts) were “proactively” banned by the platform before any reports from users. The company “proactively” flags violators via machine learning (ML) tools that detect suspicious behaviour, such as bulk messaging or other irregular activity patterns.

Transparency Report: The Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021 mandate social media platforms to file monthly reports and disclose details on their content moderation efforts.

As per the latest report, WhatsApp also received 9,474 user complaints in January 2025, related to ban appeals, account support requests, and grievances related to safety concerns. Of this, the platform took action in 239 cases.

Additionally, the Meta-owned platform also said it received 14 orders from the GAC, adding that it complied with all 14 orders.

Rise In Digital Frauds & Scams: This crackdown comes at a time when the country is witnessing a sharp uptick in cyber frauds and scams. As per government data, I ndians lost INR 107.21 Cr to online frauds in the first nine months of the ongoing financial year 2024-25 (FY25).

Not just this, the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal also raked up more than 1.23 Lakh complaints related to digital arrest scams in 2024, which defrauded the Indian public of more than INR 1,935.51 Cr last year.

To curb this growing menace, the Centre claims to have blocked more than 7.81 Lakh SIM cards and 2.08 Lakh IMEI numbers, as of February 28, 2025.

The development also comes a month after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) directed all social media platforms, including Meta, Google and X, to remove content or apps that enable users to commit offences under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.

Meanwhile, Meta has been aggressively expanding its footprint in India, the company’s largest market by users. In February, it was reported that the social media giant was looking to set up a new office in Bengaluru and was actively hiring for engineering and product roles for artificial intelligence (AI) in the city.