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India has in recent months intensified efforts to crack down on
mass message forwards after it found that people were using
social media and messaging apps to spread rumors and stoke
public anger.
WhatsApp in particular has faced the wrath of Indian regulators
after false messages circulated on the messaging platform led to
a series of lynchings and mob beatings across the country.
The department of telecommunications in July asked Indian
telecom service providers, as well as mobile and internet
industry bodies, to "explore various possible options" to block
such apps.
"You are ... requested to explore various possible options and
confirm how the Instagram/Facebook/Whatsapp/Telegram and such
other mobile apps can be blocked on internet," according to the
government letter dated July 18 and seen by Reuters.
Facebook Inc, which owns both WhatsApp and photo-sharing
platform Instagram, declined to comment. Telegram did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
A source at India's department of telecommunication said the
letter was aimed at finding ways to block such apps during
"emergency situations".
"There is a need for a reasonable good solution to protect
national security," said the official, who declined to be named.
For WhatsApp, India is its biggest market with more than 200
million users and one where it says people forward more
messages, photographs and videos than any other country.
Following calls from the government to stem the platform's
misuse, WhatsApp has moved to deter mass message forwards and
launched an advertising campaign to educate consumers.
In July, WhatsApp said message forwards will be limited to five
chats at a time, whether among individuals or groups, and said
it will remove the quick forward button placed next to media
messages.
Separately, India's federal police has begun probing Cambridge
Analytica's misuse of Facebook user data, which New Delhi
suspects included information on Indian users.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by
Sanjeev Miglani and Michael Perry)
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