look news india
Saurav Das, the official spokesperson of civil rights organization Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and social activist, has seriously accused the popular messaging platform WhatsApp of arbitrarily blocking and restricting his account. According to Saurav Das, his current mobile number has suddenly been deprived of the facility to send messages and a warning about account being banned is visible on the screen. Saurav Das directly put Meta-owned WhatsApp in the dock by sharing a public post on social media platform ‘X’. He clearly wrote in his post that his official WhatsApp account has been banned and he is completely unable to send any new message to any person or group.
As soon as this incident came to light, a heated debate has started once again regarding digital activism, transparency of social media and platform censorship. Saurav directly tagged the WhatsApp management and asked what was being done to his account and why his means of communication had been taken away without any clear prior notice. From the country’s capital Delhi to the internet world, people are giving different reactions to this entire incident.
Saurav Das has been active on various social and legal issues for a long time. This sudden ban on his messaging account has drawn the attention of digital rights advocacy groups. This is not the first time that Saurav Das has raised questions on the functioning of digital platforms or the role of security agencies. Even before this, on different occasions, he has been making serious claims regarding interference in his privacy, online surveillance and digital censorship.
During the month of August, Saurav Das had accused Instagram of imposing similar arbitrary restrictions. At that time, while sharing screenshots of his social media profile, he had claimed that the reach of his posts and stories related to peaceful protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government was being deliberately limited. Saurav alleged that the voice of social workers is being suppressed by using techniques like ‘shadow ban’ and ‘account restriction’, which is a direct attack on the fundamental right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
Before WhatsApp was banned, Saurav Das had also been vocal about the working style of security agencies. He had made sensational allegations against the functioning of Delhi Police, claiming that his personal phone was illegally seized and hacked and cloned. Giving details of the case, he had said that when he was stopped by the security agencies at the airport, his mobile phone was taken into custody without giving any legal seizure memo.
At that time, Saurav Das had expressed serious apprehension that after the phone was seized, it was accessed illegally so that in future, fake documents or digital evidence could be planted in his device to implicate him in a false criminal case. He said that confiscating a citizen’s phone without legal process and clear memo is not only a violation of procedural rules, but is also completely contrary to the basic spirit of justice.
Saurav Das has fought legal battles not only against security agencies and tech companies but also against irresponsible media coverage. He had alleged that some YouTubers and media persons forcibly entered his private residence without any statutory permission and videographed the interiors of the house. Not only this, by circulating that sensitive video footage on social media, the exact address of his house and very sensitive personal information were made public.
Saurav Das said that due to this unethical and aggressive coverage, there was a serious threat to the life and property of him and his entire family. Amidst the continuous threats and insecurity, he had approached the Delhi High Court pleading for justice and security. He had filed a petition in the court seeking immediate intervention regarding the right to privacy, security and curbing irresponsible media channels.
Global messaging companies like WhatsApp often claim that they ban accounts using artificial intelligence and algorithm based tools to prevent spam, automated bots, bulk messaging and violations of their terms of service. However, sometimes due to flaws in these algorithms and actions taken without human review, even normal accounts of journalists, researchers and rights activists are suddenly blocked.
The case of Saurav Das is no longer limited to the closure of one person’s account, but it is also linked to the arbitrariness of technology companies, the failure of the user grievance system and the right of citizens to communicate in the digital age. Now many civil society representatives on social media are raising the question whether huge technology companies like Meta are working under any external pressure or whether it is a major technical flaw in their automated systems. At present, all eyes are on the official response of WhatsApp management and the restoration of Saurav Das’s account.