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WhatsApp is Finally Going After Outside Firms That Are Abusing Its Platform (techcrunch.com) 36

Tired of taking the flak for helping spread fake news, WhatsApp will start suing parties it finds flouting its rules. Till now, it was only using machine learning to flag accounts that were abusing its anti-spam policies. From a report: The messaging platform, used by more than 1.5 billion users, confirmed on Tuesday that starting December 7 it will start considering signals off its platform to pursue legal actions against those who are abusing its system. The company will also go after individuals who -- or firms that -- falsely claim to have found ways to cause havoc on the service.
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WhatsApp is Finally Going After Outside Firms That Are Abusing Its Platform

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  • by bayankaran ( 446245 ) on Wednesday June 12, 2019 @09:59AM (#58749826)
    At least in India and many other developing countries the damage has been enormous. People have been killed, falsehoods spread, ethnic and minority related bigotry getting legitimacy and so on.
    • by Anonymous Coward

      So your saying is words kill and people don't kill. Right gotcha.

      • Oh, so it's a-ok with you if I send a Swat team your way? It ain't the phone call that puts a bullet through your skull after all, it's a Swat-member thinking you're a terrorist with a bomb ready to go off.

    • by alex67500 ( 1609333 ) on Wednesday June 12, 2019 @10:31AM (#58749968)

      To be honest, it's only because WhatsApp became the dominant tool. It could have happened through any messaging app.

      • when you've got a defacto monopoly. If you're trying to stir up trouble it's a lot easier when you can do it to everyone at once. This is why a lot of folks are calling for a break up of Facebook. It's too much power concentrated in one place.
        • Agreed, Faceboot must be broken up. Not only do they have too much power concentrated in few hands. They have also shown themselves, on a seemingly daily basis, eager to abuse that power for unamerican ends.

          We can hope that the flagrant abuses of Faceboot and Big Brother Google will not only lead to their dismemberment; but will rouse the ghost of Teddy Roosevelt and set off a new era of trust-busting. Far too much of our economy is controlled by far to few capitalists. It's time for Uncle Sam to step in an

    • by Dunbal ( 464142 ) *
      I wonder how they used to get those messages across before Whatsapp. BAN TELEPHONES! BAN SMS TEXT MESSAGES! Seriously wtf, blaming an app for human behavior. The positives of a communication app far outweigh the negatives. Deal with the people causing problems, not the app that everyone in the world is using.
      • Most people acknowledge that mob violence isn't anything new in places like India - there have been incidents long before WhatsApp or even the internet existed. But there have been deaths that can be directly attributable to deliberately crafted fake stories shared via WhatsApp, possibly even intending to cause this sort of reaction. You say "deal with the people causing problems", but aren't some of those "people causing problems" the ones crafting the fake stories, inciting violence, as well as the peop

      • I would like to know your stand on gun violence in US. Do you think guns needs to be controlled or there should "deal with the people causing problems"?
        • by Dunbal ( 464142 ) *
          Every day millions of legal gun owners fail to kill anyone at all.
          • If you believe gun violence in US is not a problem because millions of gun owners "fail" to kill anyone then there is no point in continuing the conversation.
  • When are they going to go after internal platform abuse?

  • by Kburn ( 5996272 )
    Why? Again and again and again... WHY do people keep using these megalithic companies' products when there are plenty of alternative solutions out there, most even better. You all deserve to be own by Zukky the Terrible

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