'On national security issues, there can be no compromise.'
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.
Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced intensified surveillance and technology-driven enforcement to combat pre-investment scams targeting retail investors, who are increasingly being lured by fake trading apps and promises of high returns.
'At 10:30 pm last night, I received several WhatsApp calls from Bangladesh. They abused and insulted my family and me and threatened that my country would be destroyed and broken apart.'
Rahul Gandhi claims the Indo-US trade deal will compromise the data security of 1.5 billion Indians, alleging Prime Minister Modi is surrendering India's data resources to the US. He warns of potential job losses in the IT sector due to AI and the importance of controlling India's data pool.
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.'
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'It flows through families, caste groups, and local WhatsApp communities where trust is personal.' 'Children are taught to defer to elders, so if a parent or uncle forwards something, you don't question it.'
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.
WhatsApp on Wednesday announced the expansion of its payments service in India to make it easier for people transacting with businesses to pay for purchases directly in the chat, with a choice of UPI apps, including rival digital payment options, as well as credit and debit cards. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg asserted that India is leading the world in people and businesses embracing messaging. WhatsApp said it is working with partners Razorpay and PayU "to make paying for something as simple as sending a message", as the Meta-owned platform unveiled a host of new features to woo businesses in India's booming commerce market.
Here's what you must know about the new rule, its implications, and whether it affects taxpayers' rights and privacy.
Real wealth isn't built on random bets; it's built on disciplined, guided portfolio strategies that can withstand market ups and downs, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
In a heinous terror attack, two Indians were killed while one was abducted in the Dosso region of Niger, as noted by the Indian Embassy in Niger.
'The quality of justice is directly linked to the quality of judges -- if that suffers, justice delivery suffers.'
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.
WhatsApp's advantage is that it is the first app millions of Indian check first thing in the morning and innumerable times during the day and night.
At 250 million unique visitors a month, MX Player has for long been in the same bracket as YouTube (454 million) and Meta (324 million) in reach.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The most prominent changes deal with how WhatsApp shares information with Facebook and its subsidiaries.
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.
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.
A WhatsApp spokesperson said the update 'does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone'.
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.
The Indian government on Tuesday posed 14 questions to WhatsApp on its "invasive" changes in Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
A Haryana man who paid Rs 35 lakh to agents to facilitate his journey to the USA via the 'dunki' route was deported back to India after being apprehended in the US. The man, Pankaj Rawat, has filed a complaint with the Gujarat police accusing the agents of human trafficking and cheating.
The government said that the unilateral changes are not fair and acceptable.
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 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.
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.
India's e-commerce market alone is projected to reach $200 billion by 2026, making it a prime industry for ambitious entrepreneurs, explains rediffGURU Harsh Bharwani.
Indian accounts, identified by the "+91" in their mobile numbers, were actioned through WhatsApp's prevention and detection methods, for violating either the laws of India or the company's Terms of Service, the firm said in its compliance report.
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.
Sally Holkar left America and made India her home nearly 60 years ago. She went on a mission to revive a dying craft and changed the lives of rural weavers.
"WhatsApp is an industry leader in preventing abuse, among end-to-end encrypted messaging services. Over the years, we have consistently invested in Artificial Intelligence and other state of the art technology, data scientists and experts, and in processes, in order to keep our users safe on our platform," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.
The company said the new policy will be rolled out but the platform will allow users to read it at "their own pace".
The policy change was originally scheduled to come into effect on February 8, the Facebook-owned company said.
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.
Sources further said that WhatsApp's policy update would also be evaluated in the context of the current legal framework.
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.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances