Withdraw new privacy policy, WhatsApp told

THE GOVT ASKED THE COMPANY TO RESPECT THE INFORMATIONAL PRIVACY AND DATA SECURITY OF INDIAN USERS

NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the latest changes to its privacy policy that have triggered boycott calls over the concerns linked to individuals’ personal data, saying that the “unilateral changes” in the terms are unfair and unacceptable.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which has about 400 million users in India, rolled out a new privacy policy recently that included mandatory sharing of data with its parent company. The users of the messenger app could previously opt out of sharing their data with Facebook. The tweak that proposes to take away this choice triggered a wide backlash, with users moving en masse to other messaging applications such as Signal and Telegram.

On January 16, WhatsApp delayed the introduction of the changes to its policy after backlash from Indian users.

In a letter dated January 18, the ministry of electronics and information technology told WhatsApp chief executive officer Will Cathcart that the proposed changes in the terms of service and privacy policy “raise grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens”, according to a person familiar with the contents of the communication. It asked the messaging service to “respect the informational privacy and data security of Indian users” and withdraw the changes while reconsidering its approach to information privacy, freedom of choice and data security, the person added.