Meta revises WhatsApp Business messaging policy, alcohol promotion in India not allowed

Delhi: Meta, on Friday, updated its WhatsApp Business messaging policy wherein it has allowed regulated sectors within the country including over-the-counter medications and real-money gaming to use the WhatsApp Business platform to send promotional messages to the users.

Additionally, the previously included vertical ‘Alcohol’ has been removed from the policy as India has been omitted from the list of allowed countries while India continues to be a part of the online gambling and gaming vertical. Meta has added that in India’s case, state-specific restrictions will be applicable. 

“Within Real Money Gambling and Gaming, if your country/region prohibits certain activities such as gambling, games of chance, and/or any other related activities (i.e. India), then your use of business messaging should not include such prohibited activities and should only include those activities which are lawful,” the updated policy stated.

Meta updated its WhatsApp Business messaging policy on August 20, 2024, stating that businesses in the alcohol, OTC medication, and real-money gambling sectors can now use the WhatsApp Business Platform for marketing across the APAC and LATAM regions, including India.

Real-money gaming companies slammed the tech giant for its lack of precision and clarity in the policy. A spokesperson of Meta, on Thursday, clarified that the tech company respects the law and admitted that the lack of precision in the policy update led to confusion.

The Meta spokesperson said, “When we set business policies for our service, we respect local laws, and therefore certain business messaging or other types of communication are not going to be allowed in certain countries, including India. The referenced communication lacked that precision that is reflected in our formal policies and documents."