Govt’s reply sought on plea over Whatsapp policy

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday sought the response of the Centre and instant messaging platform Whatsapp on a plea challenging its new privacy policy.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notices to the ministry of electronics and information technology and Whatsapp on the plea which has contended that the new policy is in violation of Right to Privacy of an individual. The plea seeks directions to the authorities to provide an option to opt out of sharing the users’ personal data with Facebook.

“Privacy has been held to be an intrinsic element of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a constitutional value which is embodied in the fundamental freedoms of the Indian Constitution,” the plea said.

Whatsapp on January 4 said users would have time till February 8 to agree to a new privacy that seemed to pave the way for more data to be shared with parent company Facebook. The company said users would have to consent to it or delete their accounts, triggering widespread anger. The company deferred the roll-out of the new policy and said the terms and conditions will impact only limited interactions with business accounts.

India is Whatsapp’s biggest market with approximately 400 million users and the controversy led to a surge in the downloading of alternative messaging apps such as Signal and Telegram.

On Wednesday, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, said the Centre’s stand is clear that they have sent out questionnaires to Whatsapp on various issues. He also said a Joint Parliamentary committee is looking in the matter.

Whatsapp did not comment immediately but in its FAQS it has stated that it can’t see the personal messages or hear calls, and neither can Facebook.