WhatsApp’s Warning About Platform’s Survival in India: Explained

The Delhi High Court recently heard a petition from WhatsApp and Meta challenging a rule of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Specifically, the court discussed Rule 4(2) which requires social media companies providing messaging services to disclose the sender of a message in response to a court or competent authority order. The rule outlines specific criteria under which this information may be sought, such as offenses related to national security, public order, or certain types of abuse, and indicates that less intrusive means should be exhausted before this requirement is imposed.

During the hearing, WhatsApp’s counsel emphasized the potential impact of this rule, arguing that it would compel the company to compromise end-to-end encryption and infringe on users’ privacy and free speech rights. The counsel also raised concerns about the significant storage demands resulting from the rule and highlighted that similar requirements are not enforced elsewhere in the world. In response, the Centre asserted that WhatsApp and Facebook profit from users’ data and do not have the legal right to claim privacy protection.

The government also suggested that WhatsApp should explore alternative mechanisms if it is unable to identify message originators without breaking encryption. The bench has scheduled further hearings for August 14 to continue deliberating on the matter.