WhatsApp has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi high court challenging the government's new digital rules saying the requirement for the company to provide access to encrypted messages will break privacy protections.
According to WhatsApp, the spyware was developed by Israel-based NSO Group and had been used to snoop on about 1,400 users globally, including 121 users from India.
The tech community, which was getting ready to use the ChatGPT fever and raise unlimited capital for their businesses, is going to face tougher obstacles now, predicts Ajit Balakrishnan.
Social media giant accused of anti-competitive conduct by abusing its market power to create a monopoly and crushing smaller competitors.
Several FIITJEE centres in Delhi-NCR have abruptly shut down, leaving students and parents who paid lakhs of rupees in fees in a difficult situation. The closures are attributed to non-payment of salaries for months, leading to teachers resigning and joining other coaching institutes. FIRs have been registered against two FIITJEE centres in Noida and Ghaziabad, highlighting allegations of criminal conspiracy and breach of trust. Parents are concerned about their children's academic future and are seeking answers and solutions from FIITJEE.
The court also said that if the terms and conditions of most mobile apps are read, "you would be surprised as to what all you are consenting to".
Santa Claus grooving to a bhangra beat or lip-syncing to a Bhojpuri rendition of 'Jingle Bells', adding in some ha-ha-ha to the classic ho-ho-ho this festive season, are the many amusing, desi versions of Christmas carols.
The policy change was originally scheduled to come into effect on February 8, the Facebook-owned company said.
The court said it saw no merit in the petitions of Facebook and WhatsApp to interdict the investigation directed by the Competition Commission of India.
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.
Presently, people have to download their vaccination certificate by logging into the CoWin portal.
The plea, filed through advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma, had said that the public interest litigation was necessitated due to the alleged failure of the Centre in carrying out its constitutional duty and responsibility to protect the rights to privacy and freedom of speech and expression of the citizens of India.
The MHA said that the law and order situation of all states should be monitored in view of the protests.
'The abuse got so ugly and toxic that I became depressed and had to seek therapy.'
Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp has secured regulatory approval for launching its digital payment platform -- WhatApp Pay -- in a phased manner, close to two years after the US-based company's pilot run.
WhatsApp remains committed to the protection of all user messages through the product we provide, the company said
The Centre's claim has been made in an additional affidavit filed in response to several pleas challenging the new privacy policy of WhatsApp.
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.
A university in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh has set up a probe panel following complaints of some students that a professor was propagating Islam and harassing Hindu students, a senior varsity official said on Monday.
Film folk are still celebrating Diwali on social media.
"If the BJP had governed with the same intensity with which it is running the bulldozer of injustice, today its members wouldn't have to hide in their homes, fearing the anger of students," he said.
The sources further stated that all the Indian nationals there are safe and the embassy remains available to assist them in the crisis-hit nation.
WhatsApp limited the number of times a frequently forwarded message can be sent further to only one chat at a time. This resulted in 70% plunge in viral forwarded messages globally, WhatsApp told GoI.
A young Indian man was arrested in Pakistan after illegally crossing the border to meet a Facebook friend he wanted to marry. However, the woman told police she was not interested in marrying him. The man, Badal Babu, was arrested in the Mandi Bahauddin district of Pakistan's Punjab province on December 28. He had crossed the border to meet his Facebook friend, Sana Rani. Rani, in her statement to police, said she had been friends with Babu for the past two-and-a-half years but was not interested in marrying him. Babu's family has appealed to the Indian government to intervene for his release.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court has refused to quash a case registered against a 58-year-old man for allegedly posting an offensive message on a WhatsApp group, noting that "prima facie the post was objectionable".
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has started a limited test use of WhatsApp to connect customers to grocery stores, days after Facebook decided to invest USD 5.7 billion in digital assets controlled by the company. JioMart, an e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail, "has already started interacting with customers on WhatsApp for grocery orders" in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan, Credit Suisse said in a report.
Atul Subhash, who worked for a private firm in Bengaluru, left behind a 24-page death note, giving extensive details of what he alleged was years long of emotional distress of marital issues; multiple cases filed against him and harassment by his wife, her relatives, and a judge based in Uttar Pradesh, police said.
In a communication to the ministry of electronics and information technology, the messaging service said it was committed to protecting the privacy of its over 400 million users in India.
The court in its detailed order also raised questions on the veracity of the NCB's panchnama records.
The Facebook-owned company said the goal is to make conversations on WhatsApp feel as close to in-person as possible, which means they shouldn't have to stick around forever.
WhatsApp and Facebook had challenged the CCI's March 24 order directing a probe into the new privacy policy.
Police made an appeal to people to not believe in the audio messages that have surfaced on WhatsApp groups making false claims about the bomb threat that schools in Delhi-NCR received on Wednesday morning.
The Congress on Wednesday criticized the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government for a stampede at the Sangam during the Maha Kumbh, blaming mismanagement and a focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees for the tragic incident. Rahul Gandhi called for reining in "VIP culture" and improving arrangements for devotees. Congress leaders expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and demanded action to prevent such incidents in the future.
These users span across four continents and included diplomats, political dissidents, journalists and senior government officials.
The IT ministry sources said they have received a reply from WhatsApp and are studying it, and that a view on it will be taken soon.
WhatsApp competes with messaging apps like LINE, Viber and Hike in India.
The operations revealed evidence of price and volume manipulation of stocks through the use of platforms like YouTube and WhatsApp.
Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus on Thursday said it plans to invest up to Rs 6,000 crore in its India business over the next three years. The company plans to make the investment in tranches of Rs 2,000 crore annually for the next three years under 'Project Starlight'. OnePlus on Thursday announced an annual investment of Rs 2,000 crore over the next three years to accelerate innovations in products and services in India.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday raided the premises of businessman Raj Kundra, the husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, and some others as part of a money laundering case linked to alleged distribution of pornographic content. Around 15 locations in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh are being searched. The probe pertains to the role of suspects in alleged distribution of pornographic content through mobile applications and other modes.
