financialcrime News & Analysis

Meta (META) WhatsApp Usernames Raise Cybersecurity Concerns in India

Meta Platforms (META) has defended its rollout of usernames for WhatsApp amid concerns from the Indian government that it may increase cybercrime. The usernames will require a phone number for account activation, aiming to enhance user privacy. However, the Indian government noted a sharp rise in cyber-enabled financial crime, with incidents more than doubling from 1 million in 2022 to nearly 2.3 million in 2024. Meta has been instructed to pause the feature rollout until it addresses these concerns, highlighting the balance between user privacy and security.