Meta-owned WhatsApp has told the Delhi High Court that it would “leave India” if forced to break message encryption. A WhatsApp user said all conversations are encrypted, protecting the privacy of users.
On August 14, the High Court will consider petitions contesting the 2021 Information Technology (IT) regulations for social media intermediaries, which mandate that the messaging app monitor conversations and identify the information’s source, from WhatsApp LLC and its parent company Facebook Inc., now Meta.
WhatsApp’s lawyer stated in court, “As a platform, we are arguing, if we are told to breach encryption, WhatsApp goes.” WhatsApp claimed the rule was enacted without consulting users and that it breached their privacy. The Center had previously informed the court that because Facebook and WhatsApp commercialize user data for commercial and corporate purposes, they cannot legitimately claim privacy.
On February 25, 2021, the government released the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, mandating that Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp adhere to the most recent guidelines. In accordance with a Supreme Court decision, the bench set the hearing for August 14 in order to await the transfer of all other petitions contesting different provisions of the 2021 IT Rules to it.
Most recent difference of opinion?
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) filed an affidavit in opposition to WhatsApp and Facebook’s appeal contesting the recently modified IT Rules, alleging that WhatsApp breached the fundamental rights of Indian customers by preventing them from accessing dispute resolution mechanisms. Below are the relevant sections on governing law and dispute resolution.
According to the Ministry, in the absence of the IT Rules, 2021, law enforcement will be unable to track down the origins of false and misleading content that propagates to other platforms, upsetting public order and social peace. According to Facebook and WhatsApp, the new regulations are unlawful and infringe upon privacy.
The parties will have to go to court, said a bench presided over by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan, who also inquired as to whether the question had been addressed before. This is the only rule like it in existence. In Brazil, the WhatsApp advisor said no. According to WhatsApp’s lawyer, “contain virality” has been addressed and determining the source of a message may be done “traditionally” with ease.
The lawyer also told the court that once regulations are in place, all platforms have to abide by the new data protection law, which controls the gathering, processing, and sharing of data. WhatsApp asserts that the traceability clause violates privacy laws.
Chat tracing has been denied by WhatsApp.
In its 2021 appeal, WhatsApp said that end-to-end encryption and its advantages were “at risk” when Indian government or courts required intermediaries to reveal the information’s source. According to the platform’s appeal, end-to-end encryption and privacy regulations for its messaging service are violated by the traceability clause.
We have fought legislation that infringes on the privacy of our users by uniting with global experts and civil society. Representative for WhatsApp: “In the interim, we will also work with the Indian government on acceptable public safety measures, such as granting valid legal requests for our data.
In response, the Center stated that the Act permits it to mandate that these companies protect online spaces and take action against “illegal content,” either on their own or in coordination with law authorities. The Center claims that Rule 4(2) of the Intermediary Rules, which mandates that a significant social media intermediary identify the original source of information in the “legitimate state interest” of reducing fake news and offenses against women, children, and public order, was made possible by Section 87 of the Information Technology Act.
On March 22, the Delhi High Court received a number of cases pertaining to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 that had been transferred from multiple high courts by the Supreme Court. Many petitions on the subject were filed with the high courts in Karnataka, Madras, Calcutta, Kerala, and Bombay.
