PETALING JAYA: Meta has acknowledged a technical error in its system that misidentified legitimate WhatsApp user activity as rule violations, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The commission stated that it received the feedback after raising the issue of suspended accounts directly with Meta.
“Meta acknowledged that a technical error had occurred in its system, resulting in legitimate user activity being wrongly identified as a violation of the rules.
“The error was identified in more than half of the cases in the first group submitted by MCMC,” the commission said in a statement on Saturday (Oct 3).
MCMC noted that Meta resolved the system glitch by late September and proactively restored affected legitimate accounts—including several where users had not yet lodged an appeal.
Meta also confirmed that no changes were made to WhatsApp's enforcement policies or Terms of Service.
Addressing other non-glitch account suspensions, Meta explained that several factors were at play, including the use of recycled phone numbers previously tied to blocked accounts, spam or scam activity, and unusual usage patterns flagged by security systems.
The tech giant added that user reports serve as an assessment factor, but are not the sole basis for suspending an account.
On business accounts, Meta warned that high-volume messaging or sending texts to recipients who have not given consent—especially those outside the sender's contact list—could trigger automated spam detection.
"Business users are advised to obtain recipients' consent before sending messages in bulk," MCMC quoted Meta as saying.
Following the incident, MCMC called on Meta to overhaul its account recovery mechanisms.
“MCMC has asked Meta to improve the appeal and recovery process so that affected users receive clearer and faster confirmation, information on the status of reviews, and action taken,” the statement read.
While advising affected users to utilize WhatsApp’s official appeal channels, MCMC cautioned that it will closely monitor the situation.
“MCMC will continue to monitor the resolution of outstanding cases and ensure improvements are implemented... Further regulatory action will be considered if Meta's measures are found to be inadequate,” it added.
