Facebook 's biggest messaging market is infected with some curiously real news instead of the fake variety. Indian traders have been using the company's whats App chat platform , which boasts more than 200 million local users , to share prescient information about publicly traded companeis , a reuters investigation found . The situation could lead to more regulatory headaches for boss Mark Zukerberg.Private group chats reviewed by reuters found prescient information was spread about 12 stockes , including HDFC Bank and IT outsourcer Wipro the contained financial details ahead of official announcements . One Message warned in July that Dr. Reddy's Laboratories would post a loss of more than Rs 50 crore compared to consensus forecasts of Rs 300 crore . Three days later , the WhatsApp user turned out to be more accurate than the analysts.
The situation easily could attract the attention of regulaors. The Securities and Ex change Board of India has tough rules against sharing inside information and is now pushing brokers to keep recordings of client orders. Authorities in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom already have sanctioned bankers for taking orders or sharing confidential information on such apps.
India's watchdog is comparatively low on resources , however it has just one employee for every six listed companies , compared to one each at the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission. In someways , that could put a greater burden on Facebook even though WhatsApp's terms and conditions require users to act legally India already has been identified in one study as the Leakiest country when it comes to deals involving mergers and acquisitions. It also will add to politicians's concerns about bogus news and the abuse of hard to track , encrypted WhatsApp messages as millions of Indians go online for the first time u
sing their phones.