WhatsApp appoints grievance officer

Meeting a key demand that India had put on Whatsapp to curb fake messages that triggered mob killings, the Facebook-owned company has updated its website to reflect the appointment of a ‘Grievance Officer for India’.

The update says users can seek help through the mobile app, send an email or write in to US-based ‘Komal Lahiri.’

According to Lahiri’s LinkedIn profile, she is senior director, global customer operations and localisation, WhatsApp. 

When contacted, a WhatsApp spokesperson declined to comment on the matter but pointed to the public FAQ on the company’s website that contains these details. Sources said the appointment was made at the end of August.  They added the Grievance Officer for India being based in the US is in tune with similar practices by other American tech giants.  According to the WhatsApp website, users can reach out to the company’s support team directly from the app under ‘Settings’ tab and in case they wish to escalate the complaint, they can contact the Grievance Officer directly.

A section within FAQs read: “You (users) can contact the Grievance Officer with complaints or concerns, including the following: WhatsApp’s Terms of Service; and  Questions about your account”. The updated FAQs also detailed out the mechanism for law enforcement officials to reach out to WhatsApp. The Centre has been pressing WhatsApp to develop tools to combat fake or false messages. 

One of the demands was to name a grievance officer to deal with issues in India, which is biggest market with over 200 million users.