Both countries say the planned feature could make it harder to combat terrorism, cybercrime and online fraud.
Somalia has joined India in opposing Meta’s* planned WhatsApp username feature, citing security concerns in a country that has been battling Islamist militants for nearly two decades.
Earlier this month, WhatsApp began allowing users to reserve unique usernames, which are expected to be rolled out more broadly later this year. The feature is part of Meta’s effort to let the messaging app’s more than 3 billion users connect without exchanging phone numbers.
Last week, India asked Meta to delay the rollout, warning that the feature could materially increase online fraud, phishing and impersonation attacks. The government directed the platform to pause the launch until consultations on the issue are completed “to the satisfaction of the Government.”
According to sources, WhatsApp has been given an additional three days to submit its response to India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology after the original July 3 deadline. India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than 600 million users.
Somalia’s Director-General of the National Communications Authority, Mustafa Yasin Sheikh, said replacing phone numbers with usernames could hinder security and law enforcement agencies’ ability to identify individuals involved in terrorism, organized crime and other illegal activities.
“Somalia is following India’s example,” Sheikh said. “Among the concerns we raised are the potential for increased impersonation of government institutions and public officials, financial fraud targeting Somalia’s mobile money ecosystem, and the misuse of anonymous communications by terrorist organizations such as al-Shabaab** and organized cybercriminal networks.”
Somalia has been fighting the al-Qaeda-linked** militant group al-Shabaab since 2006.
*banned and designated as extremist in Russia
** banned and designated as terrorist organization in Russia
Source: The Economic Times, The Hindu
