WhatsApp — messaging platform used for commerce, communication, and scams; subject to regulatory scrutiny over username features and security concerns.
News reports
Order a long-term news report on WhatsApp
Every mention in the Ghanaian press over the period you choose, compiled as a PDF or Word document.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Joy Online
How Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, MoMo and a network of dispatch riders are quietly building a uniquely Ghanaian kind of trust. …
The E-commerce revolution Ghana built for itselfJoy Online
… In a petition filed to the country’s top electoral court on Wednesday, the leftist incumbent president accused Meta, the tech giant behind Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook, of limiting its content to boost Bolsonaro’s campaign. …
Lula says rival should be disqualified over alleged Meta interference ahead of Brazil voteJoy Online
… He pointed to WhatsApp users and YouTube creators as examples. “Who builds schools to teach people how to use WhatsApp? …
Remove barriers to digital work, Bright Simons urges governmentJoy Online
… sing requirements for developers in Ghana as a warning against poorly considered rules. “So we have to think about policy as also to include the things that remove barriers and bottlenecks for ordinary people, because when it comes to the basic capabilities, map reading, WhatsApp …
‘Government is an impediment rather than an enabler’ – Bright Simons on digital platformsJoy Online
Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been hit with the largest ever fine against it for its business practices. …
Meta fined $25bn for ‘lies’ over user data privacyJoy Online
… Simons pointed to the widespread use of WhatsApp and the growth of YouTube creators as further examples of people developing digital capabilities outside formal classrooms. …
Ghana must build its own email services to address US data concerns – Bright SimonsJoy Online
WhatsApp is introducing new parental controls for teenagers as tech companies come under pressure to provide more age-appropriate experiences for children. …
WhatsApp introduces optional parental controls for teenagersJoy Online
… Classrooms spill into WhatsApp groups and online learning tools. Entertainment happens on YouTube, TikTok, gaming sites and streaming services. …
Is Ghana losing the fight to protect children online?Joy Online
… SOCIAL MEDIA FOCUS Almost 60% of reported abuse occurred on social media platforms, led by Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, while 14% took place in online gaming, the report found. …
UNICEF estimates 20 million children suffered online sexual abuse in one yearJoy Online
… Elections, disasters, protests and breaking news are first seen on WhatsApp statuses, Facebook Live and TikTok. …
The Scroll That Rules the World: The unstoppable power of social mediaGhana has developed a distinctive form of digital commerce using Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and mobile money, where sellers post products on social media, buyers negotiate via messaging, and dispatch riders handle delivery—bypassing traditional website-based e-commerce infrastructure.
27 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana has developed a distinctive form of digital commerce using Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and mobile money, where sellers post products on social media, buyers negotiate via messaging, and dispatch riders handle delivery—bypassing traditional website-based e-commerce infrastructure.
27 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Brazilian President Lula has petitioned the electoral court to disqualify right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, alleging that Meta limited content to boost Bolsonaro's campaign ahead of Sunday's final election round. Bolsonaro filed a counter-petition accusing Lula of mass dissemination of government posts on WhatsApp, while UN experts expressed concern about reported discrepancies in both campaigns' ability to reach voters on Meta's platforms.
22 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Bright Simons, Vice-President at IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, has urged government to remove barriers preventing Ghanaians from earning through digital platforms, warning that poorly designed licensing requirements could obstruct opportunities in ride-hailing, food delivery, and online content creation.
22 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Bright Simons, Vice-President of the IMANI Centre, warned that government can obstruct digital opportunities for ordinary Ghanaians and urged policymakers to remove barriers and avoid unnecessary licensing requirements for platforms like ride-hailing and e-commerce services.
21 October 2026 · Joy Online →
A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $25 billion following a trial that found the company had spent years lying to the public about how it handled Facebook user data and its core business practices. The lawsuit stemmed from Meta's role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and accusations that it intentionally misled the public on how it benefited from hate speech content.
21 October 2026 · Joy Online →
IMANI researcher Bright Simons argues that concerns about US government access to Ghanaian data require the country to build its own email services, since the US government already sees everything on Gmail and similar foreign platforms. He also called for policymakers to remove obstacles preventing ordinary people from benefiting from technology.
21 October 2026 · Joy Online →
WhatsApp is introducing new parental controls allowing parents to see when their child joins or leaves groups and adjust privacy settings, though messages and calls remain end-to-end encrypted and invisible to parents. The controls are optional and set up with a parent-created PIN, but analyst Matt Navarra noted this design shifts responsibility from Meta to families while leaving the question of uptake unanswered.
1 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana has built foundations for protecting children online through legislation like the Cybersecurity Act 2020 and frameworks involving multiple agencies, but these efforts are not sufficiently connected, measurable, or fast enough to match the speed and scale of the digital world children now inhabit. Traditional child-protection systems designed for physical spaces must evolve to address online threats like grooming, blackmail, and sexual exploitation that can occur remotely.
28 September 2026 · Joy Online →
About 20 million internet-using children across 21 countries were subjected to sexual exploitation or abuse on digital platforms in a single year, with most cases occurring on social media, according to a UNICEF report. More than one in five children aged 12 to 17 across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe experienced at least one form of sexual abuse or exploitation online in the year before being surveyed.
3 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Social media has evolved from a tool for connecting with friends into the dominant force shaping how people live, think, buy, learn, and protest. It has democratized access to audiences, shifted power from institutions to individuals, made news instant, and shaped culture and behavior through trends and viral content, though it has also accelerated the spread of misinformation.
2 September 2026 · Joy Online →
TrustGH, a scam verification platform, has identified more than 6,000 telephone numbers linked to suspected fraudulent activity in Ghana, with approximately 50 per cent of reported scam numbers associated with TikTok. Threat actors exploit social media, messaging apps, and telecommunications channels using social engineering techniques to target individuals and businesses.
31 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A US judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $567m for failing to warn the public about dangers its platforms posed to children, calling the company a "public nuisance" and requiring the funds be placed in a pool aimed at reducing future harms. This marks the largest ruling against the social media giant over child safety and comes in addition to an earlier $375m fine in the same case.
7 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Russian authorities have charged Pavel Durov, cofounder of the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, with "aiding terrorism" and issued an international arrest warrant, alleging his company failed to remove channels and bots used by Ukrainian special services and terrorist organisations to coordinate attacks in Russia.
30 July 2026 · The Chronicle →
Tennessee's attorneys told a jury that Meta disregarded internal research showing Instagram's features like autoplay and infinite scroll caused eating disorders, depression and self-harm among teenagers, prioritizing profit over safety. Meta's defense maintains the company has been transparent about risks and works to find and fix problems.
28 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Somalia's government told the BBC it is concerned about WhatsApp's planned username feature, saying it could make it harder to trace criminals and counter al-Shabab militants, and could enable financial fraud in a country reliant on mobile money. WhatsApp responded that the feature is not yet live, users still need a phone number to use the app, and it includes safeguards against scams.
23 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta faces trial in Tennessee over claims that Instagram was designed to be addictive and contributed to a youth mental-health crisis. Tennessee's Attorney General alleges the company violated consumer protection law by knowingly designing the product to drive compulsive teen use, failing to disclose internal research on harms, and misleading the public about platform safety.
21 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The US Federal Trade Commission has issued a consumer alert about task scams, also known as gamified job scams, which use messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to offer quick money through simple online tasks. Scammers display fake earnings and may pay small amounts initially to build trust, then demand cryptocurrency deposits to unlock further tasks and withdrawals—after which victims lose access to their money.
19 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta is facing criticism over its new Muse Image AI tool, which can generate images using other people's public Instagram profile pictures without explicit consent. Advocates and privacy groups warn the feature risks facilitating non-consensual AI-altered images, though Meta says users can opt out through a dedicated setting.
8 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta disclosed in a court filing that four US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties over allegations the company designed Facebook and Instagram to addict young users and misled the public about their safety, ahead of an August trial in Oakland, California.
7 July 2026 · Joy Online →
India has issued notices to Telegram and Signal over concerns that their username features could facilitate impersonation and other forms of misuse, asking the platforms to explain their user-protection safeguards. The move follows a government directive to Meta's WhatsApp to halt its username feature rollout in India.
3 July 2026 · Joy Online →
India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asked WhatsApp to pause its new username feature, which would let users chat using unique usernames instead of phone numbers, citing concerns it could increase online fraud and phishing scams. WhatsApp says the feature is not yet live and has built in safeguards including detection of impersonation and scams.
2 July 2026 · Joy Online →
WhatsApp has announced a new feature allowing users to connect via usernames instead of sharing phone numbers, with reservations opening this week ahead of the official launch later this year. The move aims to give users control over personal information in new or casual connections and addresses concerns about sharing digits in group chats.
29 June 2026 · Joy Online →
A Ghanaian technology startup called Relay has launched an AI-powered platform that helps businesses automate sales and customer service through WhatsApp, allowing them to manage enquiries, process orders, and receive payments without a website or app. The platform targets small businesses across Africa and emerging markets where WhatsApp is widely used for commerce.
24 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta has appointed Kunal Shah, founder of fintech company Cred, to lead WhatsApp, elevating him from a prominent figure in India's startup ecosystem to leadership of a global platform with over three billion users. The appointment follows Meta's $900 million investment in Cred and occurs as WhatsApp seeks to expand into payments, business services, and AI-powered products.
23 June 2026 · Joy Online →
WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart is leaving his role after nearly seven years, during which he scaled the platform to more than three billion users. Indian fintech founder Kunal Shah, who built Cred, will take over as head of WhatsApp.
22 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana has developed one of Africa's most open communication environments since the 1992 Constitution, with citizens and journalists engaging freely on governance and public issues. However, new challenges including political polarization, misinformation, online harassment, digital surveillance, hate speech, economic pressures on journalism, and legal contestation of public expression have emerged in the digital age.
16 June 2026 · Joy Online →
SpaceX has raised $75bn from financial firms ahead of its initial public offering on Friday, with shares priced at $135 each and an expected initial stock market value of nearly $1.8tn. If shares trade at or above that price, SpaceX will immediately become one of the most valuable public companies in the world.
12 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The European Commission has ordered Meta to allow AI chatbots from rival firms to use WhatsApp for free while it investigates whether Meta's ban on third-party AI assistants from the WhatsApp for Business API breaches EU competition rules. Meta has reacted angrily and says it will appeal.
10 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Italy's competition authority (AGCM) has dropped its investigation into Meta over allegations of abusing its dominant position by installing an AI tool on WhatsApp, citing the European Commission's extension of its own probe to cover Italian territory.
9 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George announced Ghana is moving toward mandatory identity verification for pornographic websites using National Identity Cards or driver's licenses, citing the UK's regime as a model. Experts question whether the proposal, which the minister says is heading to Cabinet, has any realistic chance of working, citing concerns about VPNs, data security, and social media workarounds.
6 June 2026 · Joy Online →