New Delhi: The ongoing discussion between the Government of India and Meta regarding the new username feature of WhatsApp will continue. The central government has given time till July 9 to Meta to give its detailed reply on this feature. Earlier the company was asked to reply by July 6. The government fears that this new feature may give rise to cases of online fraud, fake identity and cyber crime. At present, the government has clarified that this feature will not be implemented in India until the negotiations are completed.
What is the Username feature of WhatsApp?
Meta has recently brought the username feature for WhatsApp. Through this, users will be able to contact others only through a unique username without sharing the mobile number. The company says that this will improve the privacy of the users, because there will be no need to share the mobile number every time.
What is the government worried about?
The central government believes that if people can be contacted through usernames, then cybercriminals can easily target people by creating fake identities. This threatens to increase phishing, digital arrest, online fraud and misuse of identities of government officials or celebrities. The government says that in such cases it may be difficult for the investigating agencies to reach the criminals.
What did Meta say?
Meta says that several security measures have been incorporated into the username feature. According to the company, the username will be completely optional and for users who choose it, blocks, reports and other security features will remain available as before. Apart from this, usernames of big brands, government institutions and public figures will be kept safe so that their identity cannot be copied.
Why was the deadline extended till July 9?
According to government officials, Meta had sought additional time to prepare a detailed response on the technical and security aspects related to the feature. After this, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) gave the company permission to reply till July 9. The government will now take a final decision on this feature based on Meta’s response and further talks.
