WhatsApp case may test right to privacy

DATA PROTECTION LAW WILL SAFEGUARD RIGHT TO FREEDOM, BUT PRIVACY MAY NOT GET THE SAME BENEFIT

The government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that it was firm in protecting the constitutional right to freedom of choice, and that a law to protect data imprint is aimed at achieving precisely this.

The court was hearing petitions against messaging site WhatsApp sharing data with its parent Facebook and other group companies for targeted advertising and marketing.

In his brief submission before a constitution bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta said : “All of us have a freedom to choose. And it has to be a positive assertion.”

However, if petitioners argue that the policy violated their “right to privacy” then the court would have to refer the matter to a larger bench, which could determine whether the constitution recognises privacy as a fundamental right, he said.

The court fixed May 15 to start hearing the arguments in the case despite opposition by the counsel representing Watsapp and Facebook. Senior counsel Kapil Sibal asked the court to slot the matter in July, which the bench said it would examine into on the next date.

Sibal denied the petitoners’ claim of snooping. Last year Delhi High Court had asked TRAI to examine whether WatsApp could be brought under a regulatory framework. Sibal said the agreement promised end-to-end encryption, and reiterated that the user had the choice to not avail the service if he or she was not comfortable with the agreement.

To this the bench said: “It has to be a positive choice. What you are offering is a negative one.”