Google, used by millions of indians every day, is facing a pivotal moment as the recent directives of the government of this country could disrupt the way the platform works for ordinary users and businesses.
These directives, issued on November 28 and widely announced earlier this month, require some application-based communication services to maintain account linkage with active SIM cards and apply stricter control measures for the way applications work on different devices.
The Indian government said the measures are aimed at curbing the growing cybercrime in India, the world's most populous country. However, digital groups, policy experts and industry groups representing large digital platforms - including Meta - have warned that this approach risks going beyond regulatory authority and could disrupt legal use, especially in a country where WhatsApp has become a daily infrastructure for personal communications and small business trade like India.
The mandatory connection of SIM to devices and periodic subscription ensures that all active accounts and web sessions are anchored to an active SIM, with a KYC verification, and the ability to trace the phone numbers used in online fraud, investment, digital busting and lending, the Ministry of Transport said in a press release earlier this month, adding that India has suffered losses due to cyber fraud exceeding 2.5 billion USD in 2024.
The Indian government has clarified that these regulations do not apply when the SIM is still in the device and the user is moving.
While these guidelines are widely applied to large-scale Instant Messaging ( IM) apps, their impact may be most felt on WhatsApp, an app used by more than 500 million users in India. The rate of use of this application in India is also very high.
According to Sensor Tower data shared with TechCrunch, up to 94% of monthly WhatsApp users in India opened the app every day in November, while 67% of Facebook Business users in the country did the same.
By comparison, 59% of monthly Facebook users in the US open the app every day, along with 57% for Facebook Business, which is for businesses.
The risk of potential disruption in India comes as WhatsApp is constantly expanding its reach across multiple devices and accessories, allowing users and businesses to maintain a log-in status across multiple phones, browsers and devices without having to rely on a single active smartphone.
