New Delhi: After sending a notice to WhatsApp, the IT Ministry has now sent a notice to Telegram and Signal, raising questions on their existing username feature and asking how the platforms are addressing concerns related to fraud and impersonation, according to a source.
Sources said that in the notice to Telegram, the government has asked the platform why it should be allowed to retain the username feature.
On Wednesday, the Centre issued a notice to Meta over the username feature on WhatsApp, citing concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks. It had also directed WhatsApp to pause the feature until consultations on the issue are completed “to the satisfaction of the Government”.
The government has now widened its scrutiny to other messaging platforms as well, sources said. Sources said that the IT Ministry has also written to Telegram and Signal – which already have the username feature – and asked how concerns around fraud and impersonation are being addressed by them. In its notice to WhatsApp, the government had expressed concern that the proposed username feature may “materially increase” cases of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks by enabling bad actors to solicit and message victims.
