GUWAHATI: The Centre on Wednesday, July 1, directed Meta not to roll out WhatsApp's proposed username feature in India until consultations with the government are completed, citing concerns that the new functionality could increase the risk of online fraud and impersonation.
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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) also rep[ortedly issued a notice to WhatsApp's Chief Compliance Officer, asking the company to submit a detailed explanation of the proposed feature within three days.
The notice relates to WhatsApp's planned introduction of usernames in India, one of the messaging platform's largest markets with over 500 million users.
According to the ministry, it took note of WhatsApp's announcement that users would soon be able to reserve unique usernames and initiate conversations without sharing their mobile phone numbers. The feature would also allow users to protect their accounts with a "username key."
Expressing concern, the Centre said the feature could "materially increase the incidence of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks" by making it easier for malicious actors to contact potential victims.
The government further warned that the feature could facilitate identity spoofing by allowing usernames that closely resemble those of genuine individuals, public authorities, financial institutions and government agencies.
"Furthermore, this feature may facilitate impersonation and identity spoofing, including impersonation of individuals, public authorities, financial institutions, and government agencies, by permitting the adoption of usernames closely resembling those of genuine persons or institutions," the notice stated.
Responding to the government's concerns, WhatsApp said the username feature is planned for a phased rollout later this year and emphasised that it has incorporated safeguards to prevent misuse.
"To protect against impersonation, we've held the highest-profile names—think public figures, government entities, celebrities and verified Meta accounts—so they can only ever be claimed by their legitimate owners, and lookalike derivatives of known names are held as well," the company said.