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Beware of funny people and WhatsApp groups. A new security system of the messaging application is banning or expelling users in a massive way Something that was created as an alert to avoid using WhatsApp to share illegal content , and that is becoming a bad joke with more and more users affected. And all this for participating in a group chat that is renamed related to child pornography.
It has been reported by the digital newspaper El Comercio, where it reports two cases with more than 250 affected people who have been left without being able to send or receive messages on WhatsApp. The reason is very clear: the group chat in which they were participating violated the application's terms of service The funny thing is that none of those affected have done anything bad or illegal in the chats in question. Everything has come from an unfortunate (albeit voluntary) change in the group's name. From going from a group called Economics 1 (subject at the University of Oviedo in which its members participated) to "Children's pornography". Nothing more has been needed for WhatsApp to expel its members.
https://twitter.com/almu_nh/status/1182645639366266880
It seems that Facebook's protection policies have become more aggressive, and now they are also carried over from the social network to its applications .That is why references to illegal practices can end in a ban or massive prohibition of users. Of course, the fact reported here only serves to demonstrate that they are going too far. That is to say, that although the intention is good, the practical application is really bad. Unfiltered. No ability to tell if something is really going wrong in a group or if it is a joke. And worst of all, WhatsApp and/or Facebook do not seem to have provided any solution to this problem.
A very bad joke
It is not the first practical joke that can be carried out on WhatsApp. A few years ago we already knew about some practices that could block a contact's mobile. You only had to send a message full of emoticons, or one of the characters not included in iPhone, so that person's terminal would be forced to restart. Now the thing is it is not more complex, in fact it is simple enough that anyone can do it.
- Just go to a WhatsApp group, any.
- Then click on the top bar, on the name, to access the information screen.
- Here you have to click on the pencil icon to edit the name of said group.
- Instead of a usual name, write terms that relate the group to illegal or abusive practices. The known cases so far have replaced the real names of the group with the terms “Child pornography” and “child porn”.
- And that's it. It only remains to wait for the name change to be detected and reported by WhatsApp. In a short space of time all the members of said group, whether they are pedophiles or not, will be banned and expelled from the applicationWhatsApp informs you with a message that your phone number is suspended from this app, and that the only way to receive help is by contacting WhatsApp support.
Perfect pic.twitter.com/e99pIw29ZR
- Neta (@migueltb_cr) October 8, 2019
Note that if you join this group, whether or not you are the author of the practical joke, you will also be banned. So it's a risky move.
At the moment it is unknown how long this expulsion will last. We will update the article with more details in this regard as soon as WhatsApp makes a decision.
