WhatsApp over the course of past one year, has faced a lot of flak for being unable to contain the spread of bulk and misleading messages on its platform. The company so far has relied on its system to ban the accounts that bulk or automated behavior on its platform. But now the company is going a step further in its fight against the accounts that display such behavior by suing the WhatsApp accounts associated with such behavior.
Starting December 7, the Facebook owned social messaging app will take legal action against individuals or companies that violate the app's terms of use. "Beginning on December 7, 2019, WhatsApp will take legal action against those we determine are engaged in or assisting others in abuse that violates our Terms of Service, such as automated or bulk messaging, or non-personal use, even if that determination is based on information solely available to us off our platform," WhatsApp wrote in its FAQ page titled Unauthorized Usage of WhatsApp.
The company, ahead of the Indian Lok Sabha Elections 2019, had also placed a number of restrictions within the app to restrict users from sharing bulk messages containing misleading information. However, a Reuters investigation found out that the digital marketing firms were using a $14 (Rs 970) tool to bypass WhatsApp's restrictions and send bulk WhatsApp messages to users.
