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• After WhatsApp, now Telegram and Signal have also been sent a government notice regarding the username feature.
• Information has been sought on what security measures companies have in place to prevent fake usernames, identity theft and online fraud.
• After the government’s objection, WhatsApp has temporarily stopped the rollout of the username feature and currently only the facility to reserve username is available.

Telegram Updates: The government has decided to temporarily ban the username feature of the messaging platform WhatsApp. After this, it is expected that the government will also take action on social media platforms Telegram and Signal. Actually username feature is already available on both these platforms. Now the Ministry of Information Technology has sent a notice to both these platforms and has asked for a reply regarding this feature.

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Now the government has started asking questions about how the real identity of the user is kept safe in the username feature. Also, the government now wants to know whether any person can create a fake account in the name of another user and defraud people. Officials said the rules are the same for all social media platforms. Due to this, a notice has now been sent to Telegram and Signal as well. (Photo Courtesy: Pinterest)

Notice sent to find answers to these questions

• What is the process of creating a username?
• What security measures are in place to stop fake, fake, or somewhat identical usernames?
• How can impersonation of a government agency, celebrity or common person’s identity i.e. fake accounts with their names be stopped?
• What is the procedure to delete or block a fake username after filing a complaint?
• How is cooperation with law enforcement agencies if necessary?

Temporary ban on WhatsApp username feature

The company introduced the username feature to strengthen user privacy and security. In fact, this feature was supposed to launch by the end of this year. The company had now released this feature only for users to save their username. But now the government objected to this and decided to temporarily ban this feature. Also, the government has sent a notice to Meta not to roll out the username feature and has asked for a reply within three days. Considering the incidents of fraud and cyber crime, the government has decided to ban this feature.

Responding to this matter, WhatsApp has said that this feature is no longer being rolled out and the company has also added many security measures to it. Now only users can reserve their username in this feature. Can’t use it for any other purpose.

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The government expressed concern

In a notice sent to WhatsApp, the government said that this feature could lead to a massive increase in incidents like online fraud, phishing, digital arrest and identity theft. Also, the government has expressed concern that by misusing this feature, people can reserve usernames like the names of a person, government organization, financial institution and government agency. This can make it difficult to distinguish between real and fake accounts.