The most prominent changes deal with how WhatsApp shares information with Facebook and its subsidiaries.
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.
The ministry of electronics and information technology has directed WhatsApp to withdraw its new privacy policy, according to sources. 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 and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens, government sources said. The government has given seven days to WhatsApp to respond to the notice and if no satisfactory response is received, necessary steps in consonance with law will be taken, sources informed. In a communication to WhatsApp on May 18, the ministry has once again told the messaging platform to withdraw its privacy policy 2021, they said.
The government said that the unilateral changes are not fair and acceptable.
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.
Fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday ordered a detailed probe into popular messaging platform WhatsApp's updated privacy policy and terms of service after finding that the 'exploitative and exclusionary conduct' in the garb of the policy update prima facie violated competition norms.
A WhatsApp spokesperson said the update 'does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone'.
The plea was filed by advocate Chaitanya Rohilla who stated that WhatsApp changed its privacy policy in "most arbitrary manner" and had made it compulsory for its users to accept its terms and conditions, failing which the accounts and services would be terminated after February 8, 2021 for the respective user.
The affidavit further said that the IT Rules impose a host of obligations on a company in relation to the security of the data collected by it in the course of its business.
During the short hearing, Justice Prathibha M Singh took strong objection to an email sent by WhatsApp to the court. "I was in any case not going to hear it," the court clarified and sent the matter to another bench recording that the email sent by WhatsApp should be withdrawn unconditionally.
Taking note of the concern by petitioners Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi, the high court wished to examine the issue and asked the concerned authorities to file their reply by September 14.
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.
WhatsApp has drawn massive criticism from users globally, including India over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company, Facebook. WhatsApp, on its part, has maintained that messages on the platform are end-to-end encrypted and that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see the private messages on WhatsApp's platform.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that no internet intermediary could come close to WhatsApp in terms of revenues as well as assets.
Sources further said that WhatsApp's policy update would also be evaluated in the context of the current legal framework.
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 Centre's claim has been made in an additional affidavit filed in response to several pleas challenging the new privacy policy of WhatsApp.
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 company said the new policy will be rolled out but the platform will allow users to read it at "their own pace".
'WhatsApp is storing our data on servers which are physically located in another country.' 'We might be having good relations with a particular country at this very moment, where WhatsApp's data servers are located, and in which our data is stored, but tomorrow we might be having bad relations with them, then what is going to happen to that data.'
'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.'
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on social media major Meta for unfair business ways with respect to WhatsApp privacy policy update done in 2021. Besides, the competition watchdog has directed Meta to cease and desist from anti-competitive practices.
The policy change was originally scheduled to come into effect on February 8, the Facebook-owned company said.
Hearing from Apr 18 by five-judge SC bench against WhatsApp, FB move; Centre, Trai also summoned
The Indian government on Tuesday posed 14 questions to WhatsApp on its "invasive" changes in Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
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.
As per the new privacy policy of WhatsApp, user information would be shared with Facebook
Here's what you must know about the new rule, its implications, and whether it affects taxpayers' rights and privacy.
Messaging service WhatsApp has updated its global privacy policy, under which it will now share phone numbers of users with its parent company, Facebook.
The company was awaiting clarification from the Reserve Bank of India on data storage before it took a final call on data localisation.
It is alleged that WhatsApp's strategy of gaining user permission for such data sharing is deceptive and surreptitious in nature and compromises privacy rights of citizens
'The information is used only to fight the COVID-19 virus and the privacy terms explicitly state that information will be used only for this purpose.'
The representative body said there is regulatory imbalance.
The comments assume significance as social media companies are facing the deadline of May 25 to comply with the new guidelines for digital platforms.
Mitron probably would have continued with the free run for quite some time, had it not come to light that the source code of the app was actually developed by a Pakistani developer, reports Neha Alawadhi.
The increasing involvement of Big Tech in the financial system could give rise to concentration risk and there are potential spillovers, which call for closer attention, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday. "...enormous amounts of consumer data is being generated and leveraged upon by a few entities (the so-called Big Tech) by virtue of their huge customer base. "Such developments raise concerns on concentration risk and potential spillovers as their level of engagement with the financial system strengthens in the years to come," Das said at the Global Fintech Fest 2022.
DoT will have wider consultations with all stakeholders.
The updated election ads policy for India will require advertisers to provide a 'pre-certificate' issued by the EC or anyone authorised by the poll panel, for each ad. Further, Google will verify the identity of advertisers before their election ads run on its platforms, reports Peerzada Abrar.
It was only in April that the social networking giant announced the move to a separate app.
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