WhatsApp — encrypted messaging platform owned by Meta, facing regulatory concerns over username feature rollout across multiple countries.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Joy Online
A Ghanaian technology startup has launched an artificial intelligence-powered platform that aims to help businesses automate sales and customer service through WhatsApp. …
Ghanaian startup launches AI-powered WhatsApp sales platformJoy Online
… Now, with Meta appointing him to lead WhatsApp, he has been propelled into the global spotlight. …
Kunal Shah: The Indian entrepreneur taking charge of WhatsAppJoy Online
WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart has announced that he is leaving his role. Cathcart has overseen Meta’s popular messaging platform for nearly seven years – and scaled its private chat functions to more than three billion users worldwide. …
WhatsApp to be led by Indian start-up founder as Will Cathcart steps backJoy Online
… Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp have fundamentally transformed civic participation. …
Free Speech development in Ghana today and its implications for media developmentJoy Online
… Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and chief executive of Meta, the company that owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, has a similar holding of different classes of shares in his firm. …
Elon Musk’s SpaceX raises $75bn ahead of record stock market debutJoy Online
The EU has told Meta that it must allow AI chatbots operated by rival firms to use WhatsApp for free. …
EU orders Meta to open WhatsApp to rival AI chatbotsJoy Online
Italy’s competition authority said on Monday it had dropped an investigation into Meta Platforms over allegations that the company abused its dominant position by installing its artificial intelligence tool on the messaging service WhatsApp. …
Italy regulator drops investigation into Meta’s WhatsApp AI botJoy Online
… WhatsApp groups among school students have been documented sharing explicit material with no algorithmic filter in sight. …
VPNs, Social media and data risks: why experts say Ghana’s porn age verification won’t workJoy Online
… You probably will go on WhatsApp. Let’s make it. …
SSNIT’s biggest challenge isn’t technology, it’s getting Ghanaians to use it – Kwasi Afresh BineyJoy Online
… Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, argues the app stores should verify users’ ages, so parents approve which apps a child downloads, rather than each app doing its own checks. …
London mayor backs social media ban for under-16sRussian 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.
17 hours ago · The Chronicle →
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.
17 hours ago · 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 →
SSNIT Director-General Kwasi Afresh Biney says the pension scheme's main challenge is encouraging Ghanaians to use its digital platforms, not technology itself. With automation improvements, pension claims can now be processed in an average of seven days, but the full benefits depend on customers actively adopting available digital channels.
5 June 2026 · Joy Online →
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan is backing a ban on under-16s from social media as the only realistic way to address harms children face online, and warned that the manosphere's growing influence risks creating a "lost generation of young men." The position puts him ahead of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who has promised action on children's online safety but has not committed to an outright ban.
2 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued WhatsApp and parent company Meta, alleging they misled consumers about WhatsApp's encryption security despite having access to "virtually all" private communications. Meta denies the allegations and says WhatsApp cannot access encrypted messages; the lawsuit seeks a court order preventing them from accessing Texans' messages without consent and monetary penalties.
25 May 2026 · Joy Online →
WhatsApp is testing a new placement for Status updates at the top of the chats tab to help users catch updates before they disappear in 24 hours. Meta chose Ghana for the limited test because of the strong WhatsApp community in the country and the quality of feedback expected from users.
22 May 2026 · Business & Financial Times →
Meta has notified employees that it plans to cut 10% of its workforce, roughly 8,000 staff, with up to 350 jobs at risk in Ireland. The company has submitted a collective redundancy notification to Ireland's Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and cited increased spending on artificial intelligence as a reason for the cuts.
20 May 2026 · Joy Online →
The Czech Republic has donated specialised digital forensic equipment and software to Ghana's Police Cybercrime Unit to strengthen cybercrime investigation capacity. The handover, which took place in Accra on May 13, 2026, included MOBILedit Forensic software designed to extract and analyse data from mobile phones and smart devices, including deleted messages from messaging applications.
16 May 2026 · Joy Online →
As Ghana approaches the 2028 election, political parties must rethink campaign approaches to reach a younger, more connected electorate through constituency-level targeting and digital platforms like WhatsApp, TikTok, and Facebook rather than relying on traditional media and rallies alone.
15 May 2026 · Joy Online →
A marketing strategist argues that Ghanaian brands must compete on "precision relevance" rather than visibility, as high inflation, youth-dominated demographics, and 70 percent mobile internet penetration have created a "hyper-rational" consumer who compares prices online before shopping and exhibits declining brand loyalty.
15 May 2026 · Business & Financial Times →
Technology has fundamentally changed how urban Ghanaians spend their leisure time, shifting from communal television watching and veranda gatherings to smartphone use and on-demand streaming. Streaming platforms have gained traction in Ghana's cities, with YouTube dominant across income levels and subscription services gaining ground among younger professionals, while local content creators produce Ghanaian-targeted short-form video and podcasts.
14 May 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
WhatsApp has introduced private "incognito" chats with its AI chatbot where neither user nor company responses are monitored and past conversations disappear. WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said users wanted private conversations on sensitive topics like health and finances, though a cybersecurity expert warned this could reduce accountability if issues occur.
14 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Instagram has switched off end-to-end encryption on direct messages worldwide, a reversal of Meta's previous commitment to the technology. The shift means Meta can now access message content, and while child protection groups welcome the decision, privacy advocates have condemned it.
8 May 2026 · Joy Online →