In what looks like a face-off between the Indian government and WhatsApp over its new policy after the instant messaging app started limiting functionalities and shutting down chat room and app access for many of those who refused to agree to its controversial privacy policy update, an enraged IT Ministry, which is against the new policy, has dispatched a notice which stipulates the company to respond favourably within seven days, failing which, the government will take lawful measures against the Facebook-owned application.
The letter by the IT Ministry reads, “In fulfilment of its sovereign responsibility to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens, the government of India will consider various options available to it under laws in India.”
The letter adds, “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.”
It is pertinent to note that the IT Ministry is also pursuing a legal case on the matter of WhatsApp’s new privacy policy in the Delhi High Court and is also conducting an anti-trust probe on the subject.
WhatsApp’s new policy has been in the eye of the storm globally as according to the updated policy, the user will have to grant consent to WhatsApp to share personal details such as their phone number and location — with parent firm Facebook.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp on May 15 rolled out its dictatorial privacy policy and announced that those not complying with a ‘yes’ to the policy change will slowly be kicked out of the platform. WhatsApp on Monday told the High Court through its lawyer Kapil Sibal that it is trying to get users on board but in case they don’t agree, their accounts will slowly be deleted.
“We have asked users to agree to the policy. If they don’t agree we will delete them… there is no deferment of policy,” Sibal told the court. Meanwhile, the HC adjourned the matter till June 3 even as Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma and petitioners sought status quo. The ASG urged the court to record the statement of WhatsApp’s counsel that the company will conform with the Indian law and maintain the status quo where neither the account nor the data is deleted if they revoke their permission/consent for the new privacy policy.
The policy change was first introduced in January, early this year but after facing severe backlash, WhatsApp had to extend the deadline. However, the company is adamant that May 15 was the final deadline for the rollout of the policy.
Initially, those not accepting the policy will start to see more pop-ups in WhatsApp outlining the changes with a big green ‘Accept’ button at the bottom. If the user taps on it, WhatsApp will continue to share certain account data of yours with Facebook.
It is encouraging to see the Indian government putting its foot down and it shouldn’t fret from punishing Facebook if it fails to respond satisfactorily to its notice.
