New IT rules will kill privacy says WhatsApp

WhatsApp has filed a case against the Government of India in the Delhi High Court, in which it has sought to stop the new IT rules to be implemented from today. The Messenger app said that users' privacy to right will be weakened by the new rules.

Ground Report | New Delhi: WhatsApp has filed a case against the Government of India in the Delhi High Court, in which it has sought to stop the new IT rules to be implemented from today. WhatsApp vs Government of India case was filed on Tuesday, 25 May. The Messenger app said that the privacy of users will be affected by the new rules. 

In fact, on 25 February 2021, the Central Government had directed to appoint Compliance Officer, Nodal Officer etc. on behalf of the Ministry of Electronics and IT of India to regulate digital content within 3 months. It is important that all these areas should be in India. Under the order given by the government, companies have to appoint a Compliance Officer and it is mandatory for them to have their name and contact address in India.

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A WhatsApp spokesperson said “Requiring messaging apps to ‘trace’ chats is the equivalent of asking us to keep a fingerprint of every single message sent on WhatsApp, which would break end-to-end encryption and fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy”.

“We have consistently joined civil society and experts around the world in opposing requirements that would violate the privacy of our users. In the meantime, we will also continue to engage with the Government of India on practical solutions aimed at keeping people safe, including responding to valid legal requests for the information available to us,” the spokesperson added.

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Facebook had said that it is significant that Google and Facebook said on Tuesday that they are trying to follow the new rules. Facebook had said that 'As per IT rules, we are working towards implementing operational procedures and improving efficiency. We are committed to the ability of people to express themselves freely and safely on our platform. '

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