Days after WhatsApp began rolling out username reservations for its yet-to-be-released feature, the platform seems to have run into a regulatory hurdle in India. The new feature, named usernames, allows people to find each other by username instead of phone number. In a letter to the Meta-owned platform, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said usernames could increase the instances of online fraud and digital arrest scams, and could unleash impersonation by allowing bad actors to contact users without revealing their phone numbers. The government body also warned that usernames resembling those of noted individuals, financial institutions or government agencies could lead to identity spoofing. This is the latest attempt by the government to scrutinise anonymity features on messaging platforms. A few weeks ago, the government raised similar concerns about Telegram’s username-based messaging feature and argued that hiding phone numbers makes it difficult for law enforcement to identify users involved in cybercrime. The latest standoff raises broader questions: are the government’s concerns justified, or do WhatsApp’s safeguards sufficiently address them? What is changing? …