WhatsApp IT Ministry asks WhatsApp to withdraw new privacy policy in fresh notice
New Delhi/IBNS: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has asked WhatsApp to remove its updated privacy policy, in a fresh notice, asserting that it undermines the values of informational privacy and data security, according to media reports.
On Tuesday, the IT ministry told the Facebook-owned messaging app to reply by May 25, and in case of failure “all necessary steps in consonance with the law” could be taken.
“We have a sovereign responsibility to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens. The government will consider various options available under the law,” a senior IT ministry official was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
The official said that the fresh notice reiterated that “the changes to the privacy policy and the manner of introducing these changes including in FAQ (frequently asked questions) undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice for Indian users and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens”.
In January last, the IT ministry had written to Will Cathcart, the global Chief Executive Officer of WhatsApp, telling him to withdraw the latest privacy and policy update on the instant messaging platform.
“This approach has the potential to infringe on core values of data privacy, user choice and autonomy of Indian users. Given the huge user base of WhatsApp and Facebook in India, the consolidation of this sensitive information also exposes a very large segment of Indian citizens to greater information security risk and vulnerabilities creating a potential honeypot of information,” the IT ministry had said in the letter to Cathcart.
In the new notice, the IT ministry pointed out discriminatory treatment meted out to Indian WhatsApp users against those in Europe, sources said, the Indian Express report said.
“As you are doubtlessly aware, many Indian citizens depend on WhatsApp to communicate in everyday life. It is not just problematic, but also irresponsible, for WhatsApp to leverage this position to impose unfair terms and conditions on Indian users, particularly those that discriminate against Indian users vis-à-vis users in Europe,” the new notice read.
Later in March, the IT ministry had opposed the roll out of new privacy policy by WhatsApp in Delhi High Court, and filed an affidavit seeking court's directive to bar the messaging platform from releasing the new privacy policy as it violated several existing IT rules.
During a hearing on Monday, WhatsApp informed the court that it intended to roll out the new privacy policy and had not extended the deadline beyond May 15.
Though the initial deadline to accept the new privacy policy was February 8, WhatsApp had pushed it to May 15 in January last after the platform after users and privacy experts flagged concerns over the new policy.
Currently, there are 400 million WhatsApp users in India, one of the biggest markets for the instant messaging app.
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