Facebook-owned WhatsApp has filed a case in the Delhi High Court against the Indian government, seeking to block the new IT rules that come into effect today.
The new rules require ‘significant social media intermediaries’ like WhatsApp to ‘trace’ the origin of particular messages sent on the service.
The WhatsApp vs Government of India case was filed on Tuesday, May 25.
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‘Requiring messaging apps to ‘trace’ chats is the equivalent of asking us to keep a fingerprint of every single message sent on WhatsApp, which would break end-to-end encryption and fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy,’ a spokesperson for the world’s largest messaging app said on yesterday.
WhatsApp has consistently joined civil society and experts around the world in opposing requirements that would violate the privacy of its users. ‘In the meantime, we will also continue to engage with the Government of India on practical solutions aimed at keeping people safe, including responding to valid legal requests for the information available to us,’ it added.
ET had reported on Tuesday that social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, and Twitter run the risk of losing their status as “intermediaries” and may become liable for criminal action if they do not comply with the revised regulations.
Google and Facebook had said on Tuesday that they are attempting to comply with the new Rules.
Africa Today News, New York understands that India has fixed five million registered users as the threshold for defining a significant social media intermediary. It has directed appointment of a resident grievance officer, chief compliance officer, and nodal contact person and to publish the details of these executives on their website, along with a physical contact address. The rules also mandate traceability of the originator of messages, along with a provision for voluntary verification as a means to establish user identity.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK