The Facebook-owned business had already introduced the policy in India six months ago. The move followed a number of mob lynchings that were blamed on fake reports spread via the service. Until now, users elsewhere could forward messages up to 20 times. The update to the app’s rules was announced at an event in Jakarta, Indonesia. The country is holding its general election in April. The firm told the BBC it had made its decision after “carefully” evaluating the results of its half-year-long test in the country. “The forward limit significantly reduced forwarded messages around the world,” a spokeswoman added. “[This] will help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts. We’ll continue to listen to user feedback about their experience, and over time, look for new ways of addressing viral content.” Scrambled messages Up to 256 users can be enrolled in a WhatsApp group. So, theoretically, a single user can now only forward a message up to 1,280 other individuals rather than the 5,120 people figure that had been possible previously. There is nothing, however, to stop those on the receiving end each forwarding the message up to five times themselves. The restriction comes at a time WhatsApp and Facebook’s other services are under scrutiny for their role in the spread of propaganda and other untruths online. Last week, Facebook announced it had removed 500 pages and accounts allegedly involved in peddling fake news in Central Europe, Ukraine and other Eastern European nations. It also recently announced that it had employed a UK-fact-checking service to flag content on its main platform. However, the use of end-to-end encryption by WhatsApp means its messages can only be read by their senders and recipients, limiting the firm’s ability to spot false reports. But at the end of last year, the Indian press reported that the government was considering a change to the law that would force Facebook to police WhatsApp for “unlawful” content. This would challenge its use of the encryption technology. Culled from BBC]]>

"Exciting news! TheNigeriaLawyer is now on WhatsApp Channels 🚀 Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest legal insights!" Click here! ....................................................................................................................... Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and other digital content on this website, in whole or in part, without express and written permission from TheNigeriaLawyer, is strictly prohibited _________________________________________________________________ [Register Now] ILA Nigeria Branch Marks 10 Years With Infrastructure Financing As Theme For 7th Annual Conference The International Law Association - Nigeria Branch 7th annual conference on public-private partnerships for sustainable infrastructure financing, April 4-5 in Abuja. Details: https://ilanigeria.org.ng/conference _________________________________________________________________

NIALS' Compendia Series: Your One-Stop Solution For Navigating Nigerian Laws (2004-2023)

Email: info@nials.edu.ng, tugomak@yahoo.co.uk, Contact: For Inquiry and information, kindly contact, NIALS Director of Marketing: +2348074128732, +2348100363602.