The Indian government has directed app-based communication services like WhatsApp and Telegram to ensure continuous linkage to a user's active SIM card to combat cyber fraud. Non-compliance will result in penalties under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
According to the direction dated November 28, all mobile phones that will be manufactured in India or imported after 90 days from the date of issuing of the order will need to have the app.
The outcome of the investigations essentially formed the basis for the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to issue a sweeping directive on November 28 last year, mandating that app-based communication services like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal must be continuously linked to an active, physical SIM card within the device.
The missive has, however, polarised stakeholders, with mobile operators under COAI coming out in its support, while digital platforms under the aegis of Broadband India Forum expressing "serious concerns" around overreach and calling for a pause in implementation of timelines.
App-based communication services providers and Indian telcos are at loggerheads over the SIM-binding directions issued by the department of telecom, which are to be complied with by the end of February 2026.
'Instead of the government and telecom operators solving the mess of their own creation, they're telling us we need to give access to our phones perpetually.'
Radical Islamist networks are deliberately targeting Muslim youths embedded within the country's professional and academic ecosystems, leveraging their skills, mobility, and digital reach to quietly strengthen operational capabilities. This trend highlights a dangerous evolution in terror recruitment -- one that exploits ideological faultlines, online echo chambers and transnational radical Islamist influences to attract individuals who outwardly embody India's modern and aspirational narrative, points out Dr Kanchan Lakshman.
"All they have done in their entire report is privacy regulation," counsel appearing for WhatsApp told the appellate tribunal.
The tax department conducts about 100-150 "full blown" searches and surveys in a financial year, and this enforcement action is not aimed towards the common taxpaying individual or entity.
Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, is an ISIS-K member and was directly responsible for the killing of 13 US soldiers and roughly 170 Afghans at the Hamid Karzai international airport's 'Abbey Gate' on August 26, 2021.
A new cyber fraud known as 'pig butchering scam' or 'investment scam' has emerged, targeting unemployed youths, housewives, students, and needy people who are made to lose large sums of money daily, according to the latest annual report of the Union home ministry.
'There is no question that Putin's preference will be to avoid unpleasantness with Trump, leave alone a collision course,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Ukrainian Air Force on Thursday said that Russia launched a massive missile attack on the city of Dnipro, involving intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Messages sent through Internet-based messaging service providers such as Whatsapp, Signal, and Telegram, as well as those which are encrypted, are understood to be within the Act's ambit.
It is being suggested that apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, should share their APIs with each other to ensure there is interoperability, just as it exists across email services.
It said the petitioner could also approach Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal with his plea.
If a citizen chooses not to use Aadhaar as the default unique identity, then other unique identity proofs masked and linked to Aadhaar would be used.
The prime accused in the Mangaluru blast case, Mohammed Shariq, had professed the ideology of ISIS and shared the videos of the terror outfit with other accused in the case, police sources said.
The anticipated surgery and recovery are expected to incapacitate Putin for 'a short time', the report said.
On October 29, WhatsApp announced it was suing NSO Group for selling its software, Pegasus, which has the ability to compromise a device and get access to all of a target's data. Spooked by revelations that activists and journalists were spied upon by using NSO Group's spyware, many have moved to alternative messaging platforms such as Signal and Telegram.
In an interview to PTI, WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said the Facebook-owned company remains committed to privacy and security of users across India and will continue to explain to users that their messages are end-to-end encrypted.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 by voice vote following a walkout by opposition members over the Manipur issue.
Sources further said that WhatsApp's policy update would also be evaluated in the context of the current legal framework.
A majority of respondents in a survey said they will not use WhatsApp payment features and may discontinue business chat if the app shares information with Facebook and third parties, according to a survey. The survey -- conducted around WhatsApp new proposed policy across the country covering over 17,000 respondents -- found that five per cent users have deleted the app, while 22 per cent claimed to have reduced using the mobile messaging platform.
Users well-versed in privacy laws or those concerned with their data would be worried; it could well be that many of us have already accepted the end user agreement without ado, points out Ashish Narsale.
The policy change was originally scheduled to come into effect on February 8, the Facebook-owned company said.
WhatsApp on Tuesday said its latest policy update does not affect the privacy of messages as the Facebook-owned company sought to address concerns around security of user data on the platform.
The company said the new policy will be rolled out but the platform will allow users to read it at "their own pace".
Henry Kissinger once said, 'It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal.' India will have to wait and see, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Dad had sneaked into East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) well before the war had started for reconnaissance of the terrain on the other side. He had disguised himself as a driver of a truck laden with goods and traveled into East Pakistan to be received by the underground fighters of the Mukti Bahini.
Has the advent of technology made it easier, or more difficult, for brands to communicate with you and your valentine?
WhatsApp has scrapped its May 15 deadline for users to accept its controversial privacy policy update and said not accepting the terms will not lead to deletion of accounts.
The Indian government on Tuesday posed 14 questions to WhatsApp on its "invasive" changes in Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
A WhatsApp spokesperson said the update 'does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone'.
'He destroyed many of our tanks, and finally, it was just the two of us left facing each other with our tanks just 200 m apart.' A tale of valour excerpted from Rachna Bisht Rawat's 1971: Charge Of The Gorkhas And Other Stories.
Both protesters and the authorities in Hong Kong are using complex combinations of technology, reports Devangshu Datta.
WhatsApp will not delete any account for not accepting its new privacy update, but users not agreeing to the controversial terms after "several weeks" will not be able to access their chat list, and eventually, will not be able to answer incoming phone or video calls over the app.
The government is attempting everything it can to make sure that this does not happen, observes Aakar Patel.
'Suspect all, fix all.' 'It is this mindset that begins at the very top of an establishment and then trickles down and across,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'There are sound commercial reasons to hope for the development of 'anti-fake news networks',' says Devangshu Datta.
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