WhatsApp’s tussle with the Indian government intensified after the former dragged the government to court over its new IT rules.
HIGHLIGHTS
- WhatsApp had raised issues against the new IT rules that ask the app track the “first originator” of a message.
- This would mean circumventing the end-to-end encryption, which is against WhatsApp’s own policies.
- The government has called WhatsApp’s refusal to comply with the new IT rules a “clear act of defiance.”
WhatsApp’s tussle with the Indian government intensified after the former dragged the government to court over its new IT rules. WhatsApp had raised issues against the new IT rules that ask the Facebook-owned messaging app to track the “first originator” of a message. This would mean circumventing the end-to-end encryption, which is against WhatsApp’s own policies. The government had earlier said that tracking down the original sender of a harmful message would help in curbing the spread of fake news.
WhatsApp had approached the Delhi High court against the government asking it to stop the clause from coming into force on May 25. Incidentally, it was also the last date for the social media apps to comply with the new guidelines to get protection as an intermediary.
The government has called WhatsApp’s refusal to comply with the new IT rules a “clear act of defiance.” The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) explained its stance behind asking WhatsApp to track the first originator of the information. The ministry said it is only to investigate, prevent and track down people involved in a crime as heinous as mob lynching and riots. The statement also added that the right to privacy that WhatsApp has mentioned in its lawsuit is subject to “reasonable restrictions”.
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