WhatsApp launches usernames, and many of us (including me) scrambled to reserve one. I got my name, yay. Almost immediately, the Center launches a probe into this new feature, through MeiY, asking Meta to explain the safeguards around this new thing.

Earlier this week, the MeitY reportedly asked Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp to hold off on implementing its proposed username feature and submit an explanation of the feature within three days. The proposed feature, which allows users to add contacts via usernames rather than phone numbers, had raised concerns around impersonation, identity fraud, data sharing across Meta apps and compliance with India’s traceability and data protection rules. 

Basically, this username feature makes it easier for scammers to impersonate Government agencies, celebrities and others, which in turn makes it easier to scam people.

Meta says that its username feature in fact works to deter scammers – a statement which absolutely makes no sense. A team from Meta did meet officials from MeitY, and have been instructed to give a final written response to the Ministry in three days. Meta has till now maintained that the username feature is not live (although they could be reserved) and will go live later this year after “appropriate safeguards are in place”. Clearly they didn’t think safeguards through.

One may ask, for a long time Telegram had this username-only no-mobile-number feature, why didn’t the Government take action on Telegram for so long? Well, they kinda did. Recently. And the Government is probing Telegram too. Telegram has been a hot pot for illicit content distributors for a while now. And this week, the Information and Broadcasting ministry has issued a notice to Telegram seeking an Action Taken Report within 15 days and details on its grievance redressal mechanism, in relation to the distribution of pirated films.

Similar to the notice sent to Meta for WhatsApp’s username feature, the Centre has sent notices to Signal and Telegram asking for details about this username feature and safeguards they have in place to prevent misuse.

Disturbing: In other Meta-India related news, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has reportedly directed MeitY to summon Meta executives to clarify on Instagram ads that allegedly promoted child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as per multiple reports. As per a report by ToI, the ministry seeks explanation from Meta over the issue and asks the company to clarify how such advertisements appeared on the platform. Vaishnaw’s directions came in quick succession to a BBC report, which found Instagram platform to house ads that promoted sexually explicit content in relation to minors. These ads link users to channels on the messaging app Telegram, where they can buy the content for as little as ₹99. Despite the content being reported, Instagram reportedly failed to take down the ads.

The broader issue of unsafe content on social media platforms has also been drawing attention lately. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have already proposed measures to limit children’s use of social media, while Maharashtra and Goa are considering similar steps. Meanwhile, the Centre is also reportedly discussing possible restrictions on social media access for minors. 

Headlines

• Apple restores card payment in App Store and iCloud in India after a 4 year pause – indicating it is working closer with banks in India. Maybe Apple Pay will launch in India after all?
• The Centre has moved a step closer towards launching the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 (ISM 2.0) after the finance ministry’s expenditure finance committee (EFC) cleared a ₹1.25 Lakh Cr proposal for the programme. 
• Flipkart has announced its second Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) liquidity event in the past year, giving eligible employees the opportunity to sell up to 5% of their vested options from the last three years.
• Furniture and appliance rental platform Rentmojo gets SEBI not for IPO – fresh issue expected to raise ₹150 crores.
• Data analytics and AI startup C5i, erstwhile known as Course5 Intelligence has filed confidential IPO papers, expected to raise about ₹1,000-1,200 crores.
• Fintech unicorn MoneyView also receives SEBI approval for a ₹1,500 crore IPO.
• Lending tech startup Fibe files for ₹
• IPO-bound B2B platform Udaan’s Global creditors initiated insolvency proceedings in the Singapore High Court against Udaan after its offshore holding entity defaulted on $170 Mn compulsorily convertible notes or bonds due on June 30.
• Capillary Technologies said one of its subsidiary layers was hit by a financial-services cyberfraud amounting to €3 million, of which €450,000 has been recovered. Its latest purchase was SessionM, Mastercard’s customer engagement and loyalty platform, which it acquired in February for $20 million.
• India’s Persistent Systems to acquire Germany’s Nagarro in a €1.1 billion deal, Creating a $2.9 billion AI-led IT services group with over 46,000 employees.
• MiPhi Semiconductors, a Micromax–Phison joint venture, has become the first Indian company to locally manufacture enterprise-grade SSDs at its Greater Noida plant.
• The Centre is reportedly working on a fresh legal framework to regulate virtual private network (VPN) providers.
• GoDaddy has appealed a Delhi High Court order targeting fake websites that used domain names impersonating legitimate brands. It claimed that the regulations are infeasible to implement and hurt its business, and warned that they could lead to DNRs leaving India. Small price to pay for the thousands of scams that are done through fake domain names.
• sued a draft framework for Model Risk Management, requiring all banks and regulated lenders to implement instant “kill switch” capabilities for AI models.
• Dream11 parent Dream Sports is scaling back its diversification efforts, shutting down its fintech vertical Dream Money less than a year after its launch. Last month, the company also shuttered its AI-powered sports performance analytics app Dream Play.
• RBI issued a draft framework on Model Risk Management, mandating banks and regulated lenders to install immediate override and “kill switch” mechanisms for all Artificial Intelligence systems. 
• Mobile tariffs are expected to rise 12 to 15% in the next 3 or 4 months.

One More Thing…

The RBI told a parliamentary standing committee on finance that cryptocurrency is a risk, that countries like Qatar and China have already banned any cryptocurrency activity, while countries in Europe have issued stringent regulations to govern the asset class. During the deliberations, the RBI highlighted that cryptocurrencies, which are privately issued assets not governed by central banks unlike fiat currencies, carry the risk of being used for illegal activities like terror funding and narcotics smuggling. The RBI also criticised stablecoins which are backed by fiat currencies like the dollar and hence don’t have value fluctuations like cryptocurrencies.

Remember that trading crypto is legal in India while using crypto as exchange i.e. fiat currency is not.

This Week’s Find

After last week’s Apple price hike, we should be reminded that being locked into the Apple ecosystem is a bad thing overall. For example, investing in AirPods now makes less sense because who knows if you’ll ever upgrade your MacBook or iPad.

So, choose a platform-agnostic one like Sony’s WF series, or over-ear headphones like Sony’s WH series.

Or, go back to wired earphones.

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