UPDATED 21:27 EDT / FEBRUARY 06 2019

APPS

WhatsApp is taking down millions of fake or abusive accounts every month

Facebook Inc.-owned messaging app WhatsApp revealed today that it’s currently taking down about 2 million accounts each month in its fight against the spread of misinformation and abuse of the service.

As was reported by VentureBeat, a spokesperson for the company discussed at the press briefing in New Delhi how better technology is helping to find and ban users sending bulk messages, creating multiple accounts and disseminating questionable content.

Using machine learning technology, the company said, it’s removing about 2 million such accounts monthly. Some 20 percent of those accounts are banned upon registering, said WhatsApp software engineer Matt Jones.

Jones added that about a quarter of banned accounts are taken down by humans and the rest are removed by the algorithm. The technology is programmed to learn from scenarios in which such dubious accounts have been taken down in the past.

“Some may want to distribute click-bait links designed to capture personal information, while others want to promote an idea,” WhatsApp said. “Regardless of the intent, automated and bulk messaging violates our terms of service, and one of our priorities is to prevent and stop this kind of abuse.”

With its 1.5 billion users, WhatsApp is now the most popular messaging app in the world, followed by Facebook Messenger. It’s said that more than half of internet users in India use the app, with 90 percent of smartphones in the country having the app installed.

Last year the Indian government blamed the app for its part in a slew of lynchings that happened in the country. It said the company had to accept some amount of accountability and prevent the spread of fake news that was being sent through the app.

“We’re not here to give people a megaphone, we’re here for private messaging,” said Jones. This coming April, India will hold its largest elections ever, so bulk messaging and the spread of erroneous content through the app has been major a cause of concern.

Image: haberlernet NET/Flickr

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