WhatsApp to appoint India head by year-end to curb sinister, fake messages

WhatsApp Vice President Chris Daniels met IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to discuss the issue of fake messages, that have in the past triggered mob killings.

Dealing with the pressure to curb sinister and fake messages in the country, WhatsApp on Wednesday said it will appoint the head of India operations by the year-end. (PTI)

New Delhi: Dealing with the pressure to curb sinister and fake messages in the country, WhatsApp on Wednesday said it will appoint the head of India operations by the year-end. WhatsApp spokesperson in an email statement was reported by PTI as saying that the new Head of WhatsApp India will build a local team and will work towards keeping people safe in the country. "Our new Head of WhatsApp India, who will be named by the end of the year, will build a local team that can serve our customers in India as well as work with partners and government leaders to help keep people safe," the statement read. WhatsApp Vice President Chris Daniels met IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad yesterday to discuss the issue of fake messages, that have in the past triggered mob killings. "We appreciate the opportunity to meet with government leaders, including Minister Prasad who confirmed his support for encryption and the privacy of our users," the spokesperson said. Adding that WhatsApp is "deeply committed" to serving the people of India, the spokesperson said that the Facebook-owned company is working closely with civil society and government leaders to help address abuse on the platform. The government has stood firm in its stance on traceability, and made it clear that it is not seeking decryption of messages on WhatsApp but rather wants the location and identification of senders of misinformation that provokes violence and heinous offences. Also while the platform has appointed a grievance officer for India, the government has asked that the officer be stationed in India. Earlier this year, WhatsApp had been under fire from the Indian government over fake news and false information being circulated on its messaging platform. Such messages had incited mob-fury, triggering multiple cases of lynching across the country. Later, the government had approached WhatsApp to bring effective solutions to the table.