NEW DELHI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- WhatsApp, the famous social media platform in India, has appointed Komal Lahiri as the grievance officer for the country, and also detailed out the process for users to flag their concerns and complaints over fake news, media reported on Sunday.
The appointment assumes significance as the Supreme Court of India agreed last month to examine a petition alleging that WhatsApp does not comply with Indian laws, including the provision for appointing a grievance officer.
The country's apex court had sought a reply on the matter within four weeks.
Only a few days ago, WhatsApp restricted message forwards to five chats at a time, and also removed the quick forward button placed next to media messages to discourage mass forwarding. It has also introduced a 'forward' label to help users identify such messages.
There have been reports in Indian media about spread of fake news by disgruntled elements through Whatsapp messages and forwards which eventually led to communal and political tensions and clashes.
Following such reports, the Indian government had put up a demand on WhatsApp to curb such fake messages which at times triggered mob killings.
According to business news portal livemint.com, the Facebook-owned company has updated its website to reflect the appointment of a 'grievance officer for India,' and mentioned that users can seek help through the mobile app, send an email or write in to Komal Lahiri, who is based out of the U.S.
India is said to be WhatsApp's biggest market with more than 200 million users.
