WhatsApp spam calls: Government of India will send notice to WhatsApp on the issue related to international spam calls!

Photo Credit: hindustantimes

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is currently on the verge of issuing a notice to WhatsApp, as there are a plethora of complaints from users regarding spam calls from international numbers through the messaging platform on mobile phones.

Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that this has increased the responsibility of ensuring user safety and trust on social media platforms. The Ministry takes immediate cognizance of such incidents and considers it its duty to respond accordingly. Thus, a notice will be issued to WhatsApp soon, and a reply will be sought.

Photo Credit: Amar Ujala

Interestingly, a tweet by a Twitter user indicated that WhatsApp is using the microphone in the background. On 10 May, Rajeev Chandrasekhar himself tweeted in response, stating that such a breach of privacy cannot be tolerated and that the matter would be looked into and remedial action would be taken. He further revealed that a new Digital Personal Data Projection Bill is also being worked on.

Photo Credit: Popular Science

Several other social media users have reported similar messages about spam calls on WhatsApp with numbers coming from Indonesia (+62), Vietnam (+84), Malaysia (+60), Kenya (+254), and Ethiopia (+251). All kinds of complaints have been made.