Facebook parent Meta on August 23 updated its WhatsApp Business messaging policy to start allowing companies from regulated sectors such as real-money gaming and over-the-counter drugs to use the WhatsApp Business platform to send promotional messages to users in India.
The policy change comes as Meta looks to accelerate monetisation from WhatsApp, its most expensive acquisition to date. WhatsApp is currently the world's most popular messaging app with over 2 billion daily active users across the world and India being its biggest market with over 500 million users.
This move is part of a broader change in the company's business messaging policy that is opening up the platform to certain regulated or restricted sectors, including alcohol, in limited countries. Messages that promote alcohol are, however, not permitted in India.
Companies in these regulated sectors are prohibited from sending messages through the WhatsApp Business app or providing any commerce experiences to buy or sell goods or services as they are governed by Meta's Commerce policy, which bars such activities.
The WhatsApp Business app is targeted towards small businesses, while the WhatsApp Business platform is designed for medium to large businesses. The new policy also mandates that businesses ensure messages comply with legal age restrictions, geographic requirements, and regulatory standards through technical and organisational measures. They also cannot send messages to people under 18 years of age.
Read: Meta bolsters its WhatsApp Business offering with AI chatbots, others
In India, and in any other country or region where activities such as gambling, games of chance, or related activities are prohibited, businesses must also ensure that their messages only include those activities that are lawful, the new policy states.
It added that companies that intend to send messages promoting online gambling will need to request permission from Meta by filling out an application form and providing evidence that their activities are appropriately licensed by a regulator or otherwise established as lawful in the specific country they target.
Meta defines online gambling and games as any product or service where anything of monetary value is included as part of a method of entry and prize. This monetary value can include, but is not limited to, cash or digital currencies like Bitcoin. This includes real-money gaming formats such as fantasy sports and skill-based games such as online rummy.
Moneycontrol observed that Meta's gambling policy does not permit all real-money gaming and gambling formats in the application form, and the permitted formats vary based on the territory the advertiser targets. For instance, Karnataka allows ads related only to fantasy sports and skill-based games, while Nagaland also allows ads for poker and lottery as well. States like Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana prohibit all such ads.
In April 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had notified gaming-related amendments to the IT Act 2021, which will allow multiple self-regulatory organisations (SROs) to determine whether a real-money game, where the transfer of money is involved, is permitted to operate in India or not. But the ministry later reportedly dropped the plan to appoint SROs.
In February, India's former junior IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said they are progressing towards creating a framework to allow safe infrastructure and permissible gaming. The third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will establish a more stable and predictable regulatory environment, he said.
Expanding WhatsApp Business offerings
Over the past year, Meta has been bolstering its WhatsApp Business offerings as business messaging becomes increasingly important in its efforts to diversify revenue streams beyond traditional digital advertising.
In June, the company introduced new AI tools for small businesses to better assist consumers. This includes the ability to activate AI agents that can act on their behalf and an intelligent AI assistant that can help create engaging 'click-to-WhatsApp' ads. Meta also extended its paid verification service, Meta Verified, to users of WhatsApp Business app in India, Brazil, Indonesia and Colombia.
Last year, WhatsApp changed how it charges businesses by introducing new conversation categories: Utility, Authentication, Marketing, and Service. Businesses are now charged based on these categories instead of charging a flat rate for all conversations. In June,the firm introduced a new category called 'authentication-international', targeted at international OTPs (one-time passwords) that are priced significantly higher than authentication messages.
A month later, WhatsApp announced that it is changing the pricing for marketing and utility conversations on its platform. The firm has significantly lowered the rates for utility messages starting August 1, 2024, and will increase the rates for marketing messages in certain markets starting October 1, 2024.
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