WhatsApp Directed by Meity to Withdraw New 5m3o1v Letter Shows

WhatsApp debacle: has seven days to respond to MeitY's notice. 5w6k3w

By Gadgets 360 Staff With Inputs From PTI | Updated: 20 May 2021 16:36 IST

WhatsApp Directed by Meity to Withdraw New , Letter Shows

It is pertinent to mention WhatsApp faced severe backlash over concerns that data was being shared 623449

Highlights

is a violation of provisions of the existing Indian laws
WhatsApp claimed it deferred its new beyond May 15, 2021
The Ministry has also taken the same stand in the Delhi High Court

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WhatsApp debacle continues - the Facebook-owned company has been asked to withdraw its new by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), as per a letter sent by the agency to the instant messaging platform accessed by NDTV. MeitY believes that the changes to WhatsApp and the manner of introducing the said changes undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security, and choice and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens, the letter showed.

The government has given seven days to WhatsApp to respond to the notice and if no satisfactory response is received, necessary steps in consonance with law will be taken, the letter detailed.

In a communication to WhatsApp on May 18, the Ministry has once again told the messaging platform to withdraw its 2021, they said.

The Ministry, in its communication, has drawn attention of WhatsApp as to how its new is a violation of several provisions of the existing Indian laws and rules.

In fulfilment of its sovereign responsibility to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens, the government will consider various options available to it under laws in India, the letter added.

The Ministry has also strongly taken up the issue of WhatsApp's “discriminatory treatment” to Indian s vis-a-vis s in Europe.

It has stated that: "As you are doubtlessly aware, many Indian citizens depend on WhatsApp to communicate in everyday life. It is not just problematic, but also irresponsible, for WhatsApp to leverage this position to impose unfair and conditions on Indian s, particularly those that discriminate against Indian s vis-à-vis s in Europe."

It is pertinent to mention here that WhatsApp had faced severe backlash over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company, Facebook.

The letter noted that WhatsApp had earlier claimed that it officially deferred its new beyond May 15, 2021.

However, the Ministry in its communication has asserted that deferral of the beyond May 15, does not absolve WhatsApp from respecting the values of informational privacy, data security and choice for Indian s.

It has highlighted that the changes to the and the manner of introducing the changes including by way of FAQs (frequently asked questions) undermines the values of privacy, data security and choice.

The Ministry has also taken the same stand in the Delhi High Court, where this matter is sub-judice, the letter pointed out.

Update: WhatsApp spoke to Gadgets 360 and sent the following statement.

“We continue to engage with the government and we reaffirm what we said before that this update does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone.

Our goal is to provide information about new options we are building that people will have, to message a business on WhatsApp, in the future. While the majority of s who have received the new of service have accepted them, we appreciate some people haven't had the chance to do so yet. No s were deleted on May 15 because of this update and no one in India lost functionality of WhatsApp either. We will follow up with reminders to people over the next several weeks. We're grateful for the important role WhatsApp plays in people's lives and we'll take every opportunity to explain how we protect people's personal messages and private information."

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