WhatsApp to Limit Forwarding After Rumor-Led Violence in India--Update
July 20 2018 - 2:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Krishna Pokharel
NEW DELHI -- Facebook Inc.'s WhatsApp messaging service is
making it harder for users world-wide to forward content, after the
spread of rumors on the app led to mob violence and the killing of
more than 20 people in India.
False messages about roaming child-kidnapping gangs spread
through WhatsApp -- one of the most widely used apps in India with
over 200 million monthly active users -- have triggered a spate of
lynching as panicked groups attack strangers they find suspicious,
Indian authorities have said.
WhatsApp's announcement Thursday came a day after Facebook under
a new policy said it would begin removing misinformation that could
spark violence. The initiative will start in Sri Lanka and Myanmar,
which have also struggled with violence fueled by false reports
spread on social media.
The Indian government earlier this month asked WhatsApp to take
immediate action to stop the misuse of its platform, saying rumors
circulated on the messaging service had led to deadly attacks.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said in a blog post that it
is putting restrictions on the number of groups to which a message
can be forwarded.
"Today, we're launching a test to limit forwarding that will
apply to everyone using WhatsApp," the WhatsApp blog said. "In
India -- where people forward more messages, photos, and videos
than any other country in the world -- we'll also test a lower
limit of 5 chats at once."
For WhatsApp users outside India, the limit on forwarding will
be 20. This is the first time that WhatsApp has put restrictions on
forwarding on its platform in India and globally.
In effect, one user will now be able to forward something to
only five or 20 chats -- both individual and group -- at a time on
WhatsApp.
The company also said it was removing what it called the "quick
forward" button in India, which comes up on the side of media
content on the app. This means users will have to go through more
steps if they want to forward information.
In India, WhatsApp has published advertisements in major
newspapers with tips for its users to help them decide "if
something sent to you on WhatsApp is true." It also started
labeling forwarded messages on its platform to help users determine
if their "friend or relative wrote the message they sent or if it
originally came from someone else," the company wrote in a separate
blog post earlier in the month.
The steps taken so far by WhatsApp apparently haven't assuaged
the Indian government, which said in a statement late Thursday that
"much more needs to be done."
"When rumors and fake news get propagated by mischief mongers,
the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility
and accountability," India's Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology said. "If they remain mute spectators they
are liable to be treated as abettors and thereafter face consequent
legal action," it added.
The ministry said it had asked WhatsApp to "come out with more
effective solutions that can bring in accountability and facilitate
enforcement of law."
A WhatsApp spokesman said Friday that the company was horrified
by the recent acts of violence in India. Tackling such challenges
posed by misinformation would "need action by government, civil
society and technology companies," he said.
Write to Krishna Pokharel at krishna.pokharel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 20, 2018 14:34 ET (18:34 GMT)
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