IT Ministry Directs WhatsApp To Disengage New Privacy policy
New Delhi : The government has ordered WhatsApp to withdraw its controversial new privacy policy, saying the changes undermine the sacrosanct values of privacy, data security and harms rights and interests of Indian citizens.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT shot-off a letter to WhatsApp on May 18 on the issue, sources said and warned that necessary steps in accordance with law will be taken if a satisfactory response was not received within seven days.
The ministry has taken a strong position on the matter, and made it clear that it is not just problematic but also “irresponsible” for the messaging platform to leverage its position to impose “unfair” terms and conditions on Indian users, when many depend on WhatsApp to communicate in everyday life, according to the sources.
In the letter, the ministry has drawn attention of WhatsApp as to how its new privacy policy is a violation of several provisions of the existing Indian laws and rules.
The platform had said there was no universal or uniform time limit after which it will start to delete accounts as each user would be dealt with on case-to-case basis.
The IT ministry believes that the changes to WhatsApp privacy policy and the manner of introducing the said changes undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice while harming the rights and interests of Indian citizens.
In its May 18 communication to WhatsApp, the ministry has once again told the messaging platform to withdraw its privacy policy 2021, and also flagged WhatsApp”s ”discriminatory treatment” of Indian users vis-a-vis users in Europe.
