WhatsApp Subjecting Indian Users to Different Rules Than Europeans: Centre to Delhi HC
The Centre said that the disparity with regard to opting out of WhatsApp s new privacy policy is a matter of concern.
The logo of WhatsApp is pictured on a T-shirt. Photo: Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File
Tech25/Jan/2021
New Delhi: The Centre on Monday told the Delhi high court that WhatsApp was treating Indian users differently from its European ones with regard to opting out of its new privacy policy, and this was a matter of concern for the government which is looking into it.
The Central government told the high court that it was also a matter of concern that Indian users were being “unilaterally” subjected to the change in privacy policy by social networking platform WhatsApp.
Centre asks WhatsApp to withdraw changes to privacy policy, says it is discriminatory towards Indians
In a letter to WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, the government said the proposed new changes raise grave concerns about the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens
Jan 19, 2021 16:49:41 IST
New Delhi: The Indian government has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the recent changes in the privacy policy of the messaging app, saying unilateral changes are unfair and unacceptable.
In a strongly worded letter to WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said India is home to the largest user base of WhatsApp globally and is one the biggest markets for its services.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said the proposed changes "raise grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens".
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HIGHLIGHTS
WhatsApp will no suspend or delete any account yet
WhatsApp wants to give more time to users to understand new changes WhatsApp postpones privacy policy deadline till May 15 amidst backlash
WhatsApp has postponed its new privacy policy update for users until May 15 after a major backlash. Previously, the company was slated to enforce the new privacy policy on February 8 but amidst the ongoing data-sharing debacle, WhatsApp has paused its plans to implement it for the next three months. WhatsApp introduced changes to its privacy policy on January 6 where it detailed how it s working with Facebook for deeper integration across all Facebook products.
The update includes changes related to messaging a business on the platform and provides "further transparency" about how the company collects and uses data, the social media giant said in a blog.