WhatsApp is going after the government of India to stop the new internet rules, which will start on Wednesday, May 26. The messaging app alleged that the latest regulation invades the privacy of its users.
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SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 06: In this photo illustration, the WhatsApp application is displayed on a iPhone on April 6, 2016 in San Anselmo, California. Facebook-owned mobile mobile messaging application WhatsApp announced that it has completed end-to-end encryption of of all communication and data shared on the app.
The messaging company filed the lawsuit at the Delhi High Court, Reuters reported. WhatsApp alleged that the new rules are against the constitution of India. When the internet regulation begins, messaging apps will then be compelled by law to share private information with the government. It will include the identity of its users and its messages.
WhatsApp is a messaging platform under Facebook’s umbrella. It allows users to send messages in end-to-end encryption.
It even goes beyond that. It even encrypts voice and video calls. The said technology enables only the sender and the receiver to read the messages. Other parties, such as the company owning the said app, will not be able to retrieve any messages.
As such, the end-to-end encryption will have to break apart to appeal to the calls of the government of India. The company said that it is not possible, Reuters mentioned in the same report.
India’s New Internet Rules
WhatsApp is trying to stop a provision proposed by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Law and Information Technology Minister of India, which was filed in February. When applied on Wednesday, it will stringently require tech giants to remove unlawful posts, the New York Times noted.
Aside from it, messaging platforms will be forced to produce a database of their users’ messages that the government could access. If a person is accused of unlawful acts, the law propels the tech company to provide the messages of the said user.
“Civil society and technical experts around the world have consistently argued that a requirement to ‘trace’ private messages would break end-to-end encryption and lead to real abuse,” a WhatsApp spokesperson told New York Times.
Read Also: German Regulators Warn Facebook as WhatsApp Illegally Collects User Data, Three-Month Ban Implemented
India and Social Media
It is not the first time that India and tech powers have clashed.
In 2019, the country suppressed internet content that persuaded companies to go against the government, the New York Times said in the same report.
In April, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were asked to take down posts that condemn Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s response to COVID-19. The social media giants have since complied.
Separately, India also wants social media giants to take down posts that mention “India Variants.” The government said that the existence of such a mutation is untrue.
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Written by Teejay Boris
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