Wednesday, July 8, 2026 {HMC} A press release issued by the National Communications Authority (NCA) said that the new service allows WhatsApp users to have a username that is separate from their phone number, which, according to the agency, could be exploited by cybercriminals, terrorist groups and fraudsters to impersonate other people or carry out scams.
The NCA called on Meta to suspend the implementation of the service in Somalia until technical consultations with the government are held, and strict measures are implemented to protect users’ privacy and control abuse of the service.
The agency said that identity verification systems, anti-abuse techniques and monitoring mechanisms are essential to protect users’ security before the new feature is implemented.
It also warned that the service could jeopardize Somalia’s mobile money system, which is the backbone of the country’s economy, saying that the use of unverifiable names could increase financial fraud and losses for users of electronic money services.
Meta has yet to formally respond to the Somali government’s request. However, Somalia has joined countries including India, which have previously called on the company to review the implementation of the service due to concerns over security, privacy and financial fraud.
