IT Secretary S. Krishnan stated that the ministry received responses over the weekend from messaging platforms about their username features and from Meta regarding child sexual abuse material. The replies are now under review, with the process expected to last about one week.
The username option on WhatsApp, which enables contact without sharing phone numbers, has prompted official worries over possible impersonation and fraud. Meta countered that the rollout will include PIN protection and automatic blocks for users sending excessive messages to strangers.
Arattai, the Zoho Corp.-owned rival to WhatsApp, has suspended its username function amid the review.
On the CSAM matter, Meta noted in a blog that its detection systems are active but it continues to battle offenders hiding among 3.5 billion users. The exchange follows a BBC report on ads linking to such material outside Instagram.
