WhastApp instructed by SC to make its adherence to GOIs 2021 Privacy Policy Public
Even if they reject the platform's regulations, WhatsApp users can still use the app until the protection law is framed
The Supreme Court ruled that WhatsApp must widely advertise its promise to the government that it won't limit services for users who reject its 2021 privacy policy. Until a new data privacy legislation is passed, the firm will continue to alert users of the policy modification and stick with current strategy.
WhatsApp told the government in a letter sent to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on May 22, 2021 that user privacy continues to be its top concern and that it will not restrict functioning.
WhatsApp told SC that all messages on its platform are encrypted, which can't be seen even by it, refuting claims that it is sharing users personal and sensitive information with others, including its parent company Meta (previously Facebook), and that it will not ban users from using the social media platform for refusing to agree to its controversial privacy policy, which has been challenged in Court.
The attorneys representing various intermediaries, such as WhatsApp, Meta, Twitter, and Google, agreed with the Center that the hearing should be postponed because WhatsApp, represented by Sibal, claimed that the company had already promised the Center that users would be permitted to use the platform even if they disagreed with its policy.
In response to Sibal's comments, the court ordered WhatsApp to broadcast its promise that users wouldn't be harmed and ordered that full-page advertisements be published twice in national newspapers to spread the word.