Whatsapp

Instagram, WhatsApp, and iMessage have become the primary hubs for a rising wave of online sextortion, and a new transparency report reveals that major social media and messaging platforms are failing to stop it. Published by Australia’s online safety watchdog, eSafety, the report details over 2,000 sexual extortion complaints received in a single six-month period. The findings expose a frustrating reality: criminals are easily exploiting weak detection systems and inconsistent safeguards to blackmail users. Meanwhile, tech companies choose to stay in a reactive mode. The scale of the problem is massive, as The Guardian reports. Instagram and WhatsApp lead the pack by a wide margin, appearing together in more than 1,300 of the complaints. The demographic data also challenges common assumptions. Young men aged 18 to 24 filed the most reports, accounting for roughly 800 cases. However, younger teenagers are increasingly in the crosshairs. When looking specifically at victims under the age of 18, Apple’s iMessage and Snapchat were the services most frequently linked to these extortion threats. Criminals run these operations using highly coordinated, terrifying strategies on these popular apps. The eSafety watchdog highlighted some of the chilling messages sent to victims. The list includes explicit threats like “I

In this post, we walk through Claw Boutique, an open-source reference architecture that connects a web storefront, WhatsApp, email, and Telegram into a single OpenClaw-driven ecommerce experience on AWS. Buyers interact through WhatsApp and a web store. The shop owner manages everything from Telegram, where an artificial intelligence (AI) agent processes restock, refund, and order commands. The project uses Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Runtime with the Strands Agents SDK, an open-source framework for building AI agents, for real-time buyer chat. Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) hosts the seller-side AI agent (OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent gateway). AWS End User Messaging Social provides managed WhatsApp Business integration. The entire stack deploys with a single AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK) command. Architecture overview The architecture separates concerns into three channels that share a common Store API and database. Figure 1 – Claw Boutique architecture on AWS Buyer channel (WhatsApp): Inbound WhatsApp messages arrive through AWS End User Messaging Social, which provides a managed WhatsApp Business API integration. Messages publish to an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic, which triggers a Dispatcher AWS Lambda function. The dispatcher invokes a Strands Agent hosted on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Runtime, running Amazon Nova Lite

SINGAPORE: WhatsApp has started reserving high-profile usernames before rolling out its new username feature, with the names of several Singapore political leaders already blocked from public registration. Usernames matching Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan couldn’t be registered. Similar versions of those names have also been reserved. WhatsApp’s plan is to let users connect through usernames instead of sharing their phone numbers. The reservations are meant to stop impersonation before the feature reaches users, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported (July 11). Reserved usernames are to stop fake accounts Meta-owned WhatsApp said usernames linked to public figures, government bodies and similar well-known identities have been set aside so only their legitimate owners can claim them. The company also reserved lookalike versions of those usernames to make it harder for scammers or impersonators to create convincing fake accounts. Users can already reserve their preferred username before the feature reaches their country. WhatsApp will notify them when the option becomes available. Privacy feature adds extra checks for new contacts The username system is designed to give users another way to communicate without revealing their phone numbers. When

SJ Steptoe LLP More In more than 100 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and professional staff across the US, Europe and Asia. The European Commission has imposed interim measures requiring Meta to restore third-party AI assistant access to WhatsApp's Business API, marking a significant enforcement action under Article 102 TFEU. This decision addresses Meta's alleged abuse of dominant position by excluding competing AI assistants while maintaining access only for its own Meta AI. The case raises critical questions about competition enforcement in emerging digital markets and whether early foreclosure effects can irreversibly streng Belgium Antitrust/Competition Law To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. Article Insights Robert Klotz’s articles from Steptoe LLP are most popular: in European Union in European Union Steptoe LLP are most popular: with readers working within the Technology industries By a decision of June 9, the Commission obliged Meta to provisionally restore access to WhatsApp for competing AI assistants. While such interim measures are imposed in a

New Delhi, July 11 : The government is considering introducing uniform standards for messaging platforms operating in India following the controversy over WhatsApp's proposed username feature, according to multiple reports. Reports suggested that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is exploring a common regulatory framework that would apply across messaging platforms, instead of taking platform-specific decisions. The move comes after the government opposed WhatsApp's proposed username feature, which would allow users to communicate without sharing their phone numbers. The government argued that the feature could make it easier for fraudsters to impersonate users, facilitate digital arrest scams and phishing attempts, and make law enforcement investigations more difficult. In addition, the government is now looking at introducing common standards for all messaging platforms to ensure a uniform regulatory approach. Reports claim that the Centre will consult major messaging platforms before taking a final decision on the proposed framework. Earlier in July, messaging platform Telegram submitted its reply to the government’s notice on the username feature, following a similar response from WhatsApp. The 'username' feature allows users to communicate without sharing their mobile phone numbers, a functionality that has drawn the Centre's attention over concerns that it could facilitate online

Egypt and TikTok discussed new mechanisms for protecting children online. According to a cabinet statement issued on Friday 10 July, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hendy met with TikTok’s Executive Director of Public Policy for the Middle East, Eurasia, and Africa, Emir Gelen, on the sidelines of the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2026 held in Geneva from 6 to 10 July. The discussions focused on online child-protection mechanisms and opportunities for cooperation between Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority and TikTok on capacity-building programmes. The two sides also explored ways to enrich online cultural and scientific content related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The meeting comes amid a wider government campaign to address concerns over children’s exposure to online risks while balancing digital protection with rapid technological change. In April, Hendy announced plans to launch a dedicated mobile SIM card for children in cooperation with Egypt’s four mobile operators. Earlier, in February, Egypt introduced its first Child Internet Risk Index, which assessed online safety for children aged five to twelve across several indicators, including safe digital use, parental supervision, protection from digital risks, and awareness and institutional support. These initiatives follow directives from President

Guam Police Department officers investigate the scene of an auto-motorcycle crash on Route 1 in Yigo on July 11, 2026. Rick Cruz/Pacific Daily News Rick Cruz Photographer Author email Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Post a comment as anonymous Report There was a problem reporting this. Watch this discussion. (0) comments Welcome to the discussion. Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article. Weekly Inserts Latest E-Edition Trending Now

After WhatsApp, Telegram submits reply on username feature notice; both submissions being examined After WhatsApp, Telegram submits reply on username feature notice; both submissions being examined After WhatsApp, messaging platform Telegram has also submitted its reply to the IT Ministry's notice on the 'username' feature, according to sources. Submissions of both WhatsApp and Telegram are currently being examined by the government, sources told PTI. The username feature essentially allows people on the messaging platforms to communicate without sharing their phone numbers. 1 June 2026 Get the latest issue of Outlook Business On Thursday evening, the government received WhatsApp's reply to the notice on the 'username' feature. The reply of Telegram has also been received subsequently, they added. The content of the responses could not be immediately ascertained, and there was no official comment from either company. The IT Ministry issued a notice to WhatsApp last Wednesday, questioning the Meta-owned platform's proposed username feature, as the government flagged concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks. The Centre had also directed WhatsApp not to launch the feature until consultations on the issue are completed "to the satisfaction of the government". WhatsApp had subsequently assured

Privacy claims over WhatsApp security must be arbitrated, US judge rules ( July 9, 2026, 23:39 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: A US federal judge sent a privacy lawsuit against Meta Platforms and WhatsApp to arbitration over claims that Meta and its third-party contractors have access to WhatsApp users’ private messages. “Because all of Plaintiffs’ claims are subject to arbitration, the case is stayed pending arbitration,” the judge wrote.Order is attached.... Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term. Know what others in the room don’t, with features including: Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.

Meta has introduced Muse Image, a new artificial intelligence feature that lets users create AI-generated images using text prompts, sketches and public Instagram photos. The tool includes preset prompts to help spark ideas, allows users to sketch edits directly onto images and lets them tag public Instagram accounts to incorporate those photos into AI-generated creations. How Muse Image Uses Instagram Photos According to Meta, users can mention public Instagram accounts in the Meta AI app to include publicly available images in AI-generated designs, such as invitations, graphics or creative concepts. The feature only works with content from public Instagram accounts. Meta says users can control whether their content is available for AI creation through their account settings. Meta Meta Instagram says reuse settings depend on account privacy Private accounts: Photos, videos and reels cannot be reused by others. Public accounts: Content may be reused in features such as Remix, Templates, Stickers and Meta’s AI tools. Public accounts for users under 18: Only people they follow can reuse content if reuse is enabled. If a user switches from a public account to a private account, Instagram says reused posts and stories will be removed after the account remains private for more