Govt working on common standards for messaging platforms' username feature

The government is examining responses from WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram to develop a common framework for username-based identities and guard against fraud and impersonation

The government is working on a set of common standards for peer-to-peer messaging platforms to ensure uniformity in username-based identities that these intermediaries want to offer, a senior government official said on Monday. 

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has so far received responses from WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram on the issue, and is studying the responses to come out with a common legal framework, the official said. 

These messaging intermediaries have also submitted detailed explanations of how the username feature of their respective platforms work and the necessary safeguards put in place to prevent fraud and impersonation, the official said. 

Earlier this month, the government directed WhatsApp and Meta not to roll out WhatsApp’s new username feature un­til consultations are completed, amid concerns about potential misuse, including impersonation, fraud, and online scams. 

Senior government officials had then said the examination would focus on whether the feature could potentially be expl­oited by scammers. The official said concerns around userna­mes not being available to original or genuine users were also being brought to WhatsApp’s notice and would be examined.