WhatsApp says system error caused mass account blocks

Jakarta (ANTARA) - WhatsApp has explained that the blocking of a number of user accounts in Indonesia occurred due to a system error in detecting activity deemed to violate its terms of service.

WhatsApp Head of Public Policy for Asia Pacific Esther Samboh said WhatsApp has a system that can detect activity that violates the terms of service, one of which is spam.

“We always take proactive steps and continuously strive through various efforts at WhatsApp to circumvent things that violate WhatsApp’s terms of service in order to target genuine WhatsApp users,” Esther said at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

However, an error occurred during that process, causing WhatsApp to block a number of user accounts that had not actually committed any violation.

“This was indeed a system error which we immediately mitigated,” Esther said.

She confirmed that the issue did not only occur in Indonesia, but was a system error that occurred globally.

As such, the blocking was not part of any action specifically targeting certain users or parties in Indonesia.

For users whose accounts remain blocked, WhatsApp provides an appeal mechanism directly through the app. Esther said every appeal will be reviewed by WhatsApp within less than 24 hours.

Esther said WhatsApp continues to evaluate and update its system to prevent similar errors from recurring.

“After the incident occurred, our team immediately carried out mitigation and substantively managed to mitigate the incidents that happened previously,” Esther said.