In a significant order, the Supreme Court has restrained the Enforcement Directorate from accessing and copying content from electronic devices seized during searches against Santiago Martin, also known as the 'lottery king', his relatives, and employees.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph asked the mobile messaging app to give advertisement in five newspapers to publicise its undertaking given to the government.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that foreign nationals facing criminal charges cannot be allowed to leave the country. The court emphasized the need to ensure the presence of foreigners during criminal proceedings and outlined procedures for enforcing this restriction. The ruling clarifies legal provisions related to foreigners' movements in India, particularly during bail applications.
A WhatsApp spokesperson said the update 'does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone'.
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 court has correctly refrained from defining privacy or delineating definitively its contours
Twitter handles of Gandhi and several Congress leaders have been locked by the US firm for posting pictures of the family of the nine-year-old Dalit rape and murder victim last week in the national capital.
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.
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 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 top court gave the examples of personal information like thumb impression people voluntarily gave for using mobile phones.
Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old Indian-origin former employee of OpenAI, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26. The medical examiner's office ruled the death a suicide, and police say there is no evidence of foul play. Balaji was known for publicly accusing OpenAI of violating US copyright law while developing ChatGPT, a generative AI program that has become a global sensation. His death comes amid a wave of lawsuits against OpenAI from creators who claim their copyrighted material was used without permission to train ChatGPT.
The petitioner woman, who had added her now estranged husband's surname to her maiden name, said the requirement was in violation of the provisions of the Constitution.
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.
Motor racing boss Max Mosley won damages in the High Court on Thursday when a judge ruled his privacy was violated after The News of the World published a story about his part in a sado-masochistic orgy
A Dalit student at Delhi University's Shaheed Bhagat Singh College has filed a police complaint alleging that its principal hurled casteist slurs and assaulted him after he was falsely accused of sending obscene messages on the official WhatsApp group of his department. The student, a third-year BA Hindi Honours student, claimed the incident caused him mental trauma and defamation. He has also written to the University Vice-Chancellor and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, seeking action against those involved. The principal has denied the allegations, claiming the student was being manipulated by a faculty member against whom an inquiry is underway.
The Supreme Court of India has directed all high courts, state governments, and union territories to ensure the availability of separate toilet facilities for men, women, persons with disabilities (PwDs), and transgender persons in all court premises and tribunals across the country. The court stressed the importance of public health and the right to privacy, stating that adequate public toilets protect women and transgender persons. The court also expressed concern about the condition of public toilets near toll plazas on national highways and emphasized the need for proper sanitation facilities in court premises for judges, advocates, litigants, and staff members. This decision highlights the importance of access to basic amenities in ensuring a fair and dignified justice system.
A second case for a sexual offence has been registered against director Ranjith on a complaint by a male actor in Kozhikode, police said on Saturday.
'Transparency, privacy and security have been the core design principle of Aarogya Setu. Opening the source code to developer community signifies Government of India continuing principal to these commitments'
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.
One of the crucial features of the right to privacy judgment is the understanding that democracy is founded on pluralism and diversity, and pluralism and diversity begin in the mind, says Gautam Bhatia.
'Check every SMS you get. Many people ignore them.' 'Remember if there is an activity in your account, your financial institution will send you an SMS, not a WhatsApp message.'
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tagged a post of a person raising the issue of privacy over the prime minister's letter being received by persons living abroad.
Users of Facebook were inundated with messages on their news feeds reposted by friends that warn if they don't act fast, Facebook will be allowed to infringe on their privacy.
After Twitter, Facebook has removed a content posted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that identified the family of a nine-year-old victim of alleged rape and murder in Northwest Delhi, saying it violated the social media platform's policies.
The cricketer said a sale agreement was executed between him and his mother on one side and the builder on the other for the purchase of an apartment for over Rs 14 crore in the real estate project initiated by Brilliant Etoile Pvt Ltd in Hauz Khas under the name 'Sky Mansion' and displaying the name 'Risland'.
The Metropolitan Police has said it was probing into complaints that the search engine picked up people's online activities through unprotected home and business networks while photographing neighbourhoods for its 'street view' mapping feature.
WhatsApp and Facebook had challenged the CCI's March 24 order directing a probe into the new privacy policy.
This is the first time that the IT ministry has outlined its stance in a dispute between users and social media platforms.
The fears arise from Facebook's handling of user data and potential privacy violations, more specifically the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside an order of the Calcutta high court in which it acquitted an accused in a sexual assault case and made 'objectionable' observations advising adolescent girls to 'control sexual urges'.
The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a plea challenging a Bombay high court verdict upholding a Mumbai college's decision to ban hijabs, burqas and naqabs inside the campus.
'Transparency is us watching the government and not the government watching us'
The Bombay high court on Wednesday refused to interfere in a decision taken by a Mumbai-based college to impose a ban on hijab, burka and naqab in its premises.
The top court rejected the Centre's vehement contention that there was no general or fundamental right to privacy under the Constitution.
Seeking prompt removal of identifiable references of the deceased from all social media platforms, the IT ministry warned that failure to comply with the apex court's order may result in legal consequences and further regulatory action.
"Right to Privacy is not a fundamental right under our Constitution. It flows from one right to another right. Constitution makers did not intend to make right to privacy a fundamental right," said the AG.
Asking a pre-university schoolgirl to take off her hijab at her school gate is an "invasion" of her privacy and dignity, Supreme Court judge Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said on Thursday.
In 1954, a bench of eight Supreme Court judges declared that the Constitution-makers did not recognise the Fundamental Right to Privacy. It is hoped that a larger bench as and when constituted will uphold the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right overruling the 1954 decision, says the distinguished lawyer, P P Rao.
Privacy allows people a space where they can refuse to conform. And it is in that space where liberty flourishes.
