Data Protection & Privacy

WhatsApp’s privacy policy doesn’t conform to Indian law: Centre to Delhi HC

The Centre has told the Delhi High Court that WhatsApp’s new security notion doesn’t adjust to India’s data laws. The world’s biggest texting on the tips administration has now been summoned to explain its situation on the standards. WhatsApp’s refreshed privacy policy became effective on May 15. Facebook Inc. claimed that while it would not quickly erase records of clients who don’t consent to the guidelines, it’ll gradually begin confining the entrance.

Hearing before the Court

The bench issued notice to the Centre that Facebook and WhatsApp seeking their stand on a lawyer’s petition claiming that the new privacy policy violates users’ right to privacy under the Constitution of India. During the conference, the Centre said that the guidelines was disregarding Indian IT laws and rules. It said it has kept in touch with Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, on the issue and an answer is anticipated and along these lines, there was a need to keep up the state of affairs concerning execution of the arrangement.  

WhatsApp, restricting the dispute, said it was complying with the Indian IT law and added that its arrangement has become effective from May 15, yet it will not be erasing accounts immediately.  

“The execution of the new terms has not been conceded, as submitted to the court. All things considered, regardless of whether clients have not acknowledged the overhauled strategy, their records are not proposed to be erased quickly,” said Raj Ramachandran, an accomplice at J Sagar Partners. “Considering the settled in utilization of the application and given the current pandemic, (it’s) improbable that there will be any huge shift. Be that as it may, the clients’ anxiety being of the obscure, given the disarray encompassing the reconsidered strategy, may lead them to pick extra applications to remain associated.”  

The case will next come in for hearing in the Delhi High Court on June 3rd. 

Legal Challenges to the privacy policy

Recently, the Delhi High Court had rejected WhatsApp’s challenge to the investigation undertaken by the Competition Commission of India. WhatsApp had previously issued a major update to its privacy policy in 2016. A PIL challenging the policy is pending before the Supreme Court. The Internet freedom foundation has challenged the new privacy policy in the Supreme Court, and two other petitions are pending before the Delhi High Court.


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Shuvangi Das

Shuvangi is an law undergraduate at Xavier Law School, XIM- Bhubaneswar. She is a woman who is vocal and stands ground for the things she believes in. She keeps a keen interest in criminal law, social issues, and public policy. The dynamic nuances of technology have always driven her to know more of it.

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