WhatsApp Users’ New Identity Crisis
7/3/202618 min
The Indian government has issued a notice to Meta over WhatsApp’s planned username feature, warning that it could fuel impersonation and online fraud. Meta maintains usernames are a privacy feature designed to let users connect without sharing phone numbers. But the dispute runs much deeper. In this episode, host Anirban Chowdhury talks to Apar Gupta, co-founder, Internet Freedom Foundation about the government’s concerns, Meta’s response, the first-originator rule, end-to-end encryption, the limits of India’s IT Rules and DPDP Act, and why the bigger question is whether governments will ever lead—rather than merely react to—the future of digital identity.
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First 90 secondsAnirban Chaudhuri· Host0:00
[intro theme] [keyboard click] For nearly two decades, [notification sound] WhatsApp has identified us by our phone numbers. [notification sound] Now that's changing. [upbeat music] Now, Meta wants us to identify via usernames. It says it's about privacy. The Indian government, however, fears it could become a playground for impersonation and fraud. And from there, a debate has emanated. [upbeat music] To that effect, the government has served Meta a notice. Meta insists this, that's the shift from phone numbers to usernames, is a long overdue privacy upgrade that is best to protect users' digital identities. So who's right? Broadly, why are our digital identities supplied by big tech? And why do governments always step in after technology has already changed how we live? Join me in my conversation with Apar Gupta, a tech lawyer and co-founder of Internet Freedom Foundation. It's Friday, the third of July. I'm Anirban Chaudhuri. This is The Morning Brief.
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