Indian Govt seeks withdrawal of WhatsApp s new policy: All you need to know
The government was specifically unhappy with the all or nothing approach that the company took when it did not give its users a choice to opt-out from accepting the privacy policy but still use the app. January 19, 2021 / 05:59 PM IST
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has worded a rather strong letter to WhatsApp saying its new privacy policy is invasive and has asked the messaging app to withdraw the proposed changes.
The proposed changes to WhatsApp s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy raise grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens, it wrote.
Highlights
The Ministry has asked WhatsApp to withdraw its new privacy policy
The data sharing between Whatsapp and Facebook has been one key aspect of the concerns
New Delhi: In a strongly worded letter to Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has expressed its strong concerns on the new privacy changes and asked the instant messaging app to respect the date security of Indian users .
The IT Ministry, in the letter to CEO Will Cathcart, asked Whatsapp to withdraw the proposed policy, slamming its all or nothing approach which leverages the social significance of the app to force users into a bargain .
WhatsApp Privacy Policy: Government questions CEO, asks to withdraw recent changes to privacy policy
In a strongly worded letter to WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, the ministry also raised concerns about the information security of the users as the new policy of WhatsApp proposes to share the metadata of users chat with business accounts with other Facebook companies.
Source: Reuters
The Indian government has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the recent changes in the privacy policy of the messaging app, saying any unilateral changes to the WhatsApp Terms of Service and Privacy would not be fair and acceptable .
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was opposed to this all or nothing option that Whatsapp had left for its users when it first rolled out the new update.