With everyone pointing towards its end-to-end encryption and hiring of an India head, one of the world’s most popular instant messaging apps WhatsApp has disclosed its future plan for India.
The Facebook-owned company’s CEO Chris Daniels, whose second India visit starts today has said that WhatsApp India head will be named by the end of this year, reports ET.
It is worth noting that, WhatsApp, since its inception in India, has not hired the country-specific CEO or head of operations. As of now, it has only hired Komal Lahiri as a local grievance officer for India following the concern raised by the Supreme Court.
For the past eight months, the company has been throwing all cards to launch its UPI-based payments service, however, it faced several regulatory hurdles regarding the same.
Since April 2017, the instant messaging platform is scouting for a suitable candidate to head its India operations. Several names such as Visa India’s former head Uttam Nayak and former Paytm executive Amit Lakhotia (for UPI-based payments operation) came to light but it has failed to select any of them.
Besides, Daniels has announced the company’s intention to remain fully committed to end-to-end encryption. The company is unwilling to change its encryption policy.
Regarding fake new, Daniels explained that relying on law enforcement isn’t enough and broad education is needed when any technology such as WhatsApp is introduced to masses. He also added that fighting misinformation requires efforts from all stakeholders including technology companies, civil society, and government.
Like his previous tour, Daniels is scheduled to meet IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as well as top officials of the Reserve Bank of India. After the meetings, more information regarding WhatsApp plan in India is expected to come out.
Of late, WhatsApp parent Facebook had roped in BBC senior digital strategist Trushar Barot to combat with fake news in India. Barot is expected to Join by early 2018 and will lead and develop integrity initiatives for Facebook in the country.
