WhatsApp bans TDP Kadapa district president R Srinivasa’s account

Days after WhatsApp banned Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Rajya Sabha member C.M. Ramesh’s account, the Facebook-owned social media messaging platform has now banned the account of TDP’s Kadapa district president R Srinivasa handle for alleged violation of its terms of service. WhatsApp is yet to respond as to why his account was banned. WhatsApp gets you banned if you send illegal, defamatory, threatening messages or if WhatsApp receives a lot of user reports against you. WhatsApp in recent months has banned millions of accounts.

"There is something fishy going on, especially because it is only happening to the TDP leaders. First, CM Ramesh's WhatsApp account was banned and now mine. It was actually on the 7th that I realized I was not able to use my WhatsApp account. For the last three days, I have tried many means to uninstall and reinstall the application but to no avail. I got a message that my account has been banned,” TOI quoted R Srinivasa Reddy as saying.

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“I suspect that BJP in the collision with YSR Congress has been targeting leaders of the Kadapa district one after the other by resorting to such acts of prominent leaders right ahead of the elections,” he added. 

Earlier, Rajya Sabha member C.M. Ramesh’s WhatsApp account has been “banned”. Alleging conspiracy, C.M. Ramesh vowed to take legal action against the blocking of his account.

There are over 200 million WhatsApp users in India. WhatsApp recently revealed that it is now banning almost two million accounts every month in a bid to curb misinformation, fake news, and spam.

"As with any communications platform, sometimes people attempt to exploit our service. Some may want to distribute click-bait links designed to capture personal information, while others want to promote an idea,” WhatsApp said during the press conference, according to Venturebeat. “Regardless of the intent, automated and bulk messaging violates our terms of service, and one of our priorities is to prevent and stop this kind of abuse." 

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WhatsApp bans you at three stages: while registering, at messaging, or on basis of negative feedback. WhatsApp can ban your account at registration if your number has been recently abused.