INDIA: WhatsApp has filed a case against the Indian government in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday. The Facebook-owned messaging application has asked the government to block the new IT rules that will come into effect today. The new rules require social media platforms like WhatsApp to “trace” the origin of particular messages sent on the service.
“Requiring messaging apps to ‘trace’ chats is the equivalent of asking us to keep a fingerprint of every single message sent on WhatsApp, which would break end-to-end encryption and fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy,” a spokesperson for WhatsApp said on Wednesday.
Whatsapp has consistently worked with experts around the world in opposing requirements that would violate the privacy of its users.
“In the meantime, we will also continue to engage with the Government of India on practical solutions aimed at keeping people safe, including responding to valid legal requests for the information available to us,” it added.
Transcontinental Times had reported on Tuesday that social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, and Twitter run the risk of losing their status as “intermediaries”. Along with this, they may also become liable for criminal action if they do not comply with the revised regulations.
Meanwhile, India has fixed five million registered users as the threshold for defining a significant social media platform.
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