Cybercrime: Selective action won’t help

The Government of India’s recent notice to Meta regarding WhatsApp’s upcoming “Username” feature is a welcome step. The concern that allowing users to register with a fictitious user name could lead to increased online fraud, phishing, impersonation, and difficulties in cybercrime investigations is valid.

However, there is a major contradiction here. 

The exact same “anonymous username” system already exists on Facebook which is also owned by Meta. On Facebook, anyone can create a Page or Profile with any name and message users without revealing a phone number or proper real ID

My question is simple: Why are our SL IT regulators silent?

Today,  one paper reported: “AI women  SWINDLING SRI LANKANS HAVE INCREASED.”

If our government’s concern is genuinely about public safety and preventing cybercrime, then the rules must be applied uniformly across all platforms. Selective action against only WhatsApp will not solve the problem in India and will only create confusion.

I  urge the government to clarify its policy and bring in uniform regulations for all social media platforms regarding anonymous registrations to reduce cybercrimes.

Sumith de Silva