Privacy Issue Regarding Whatsapp

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The new privacy policy of Facebook-owned Whatsapp has generated a lot of controversy regarding its privacy in India. On the one hand, an iconic judgment was passed regarding the right to privacy four years ago but on the other hand, we have an app that promises complete privacy but still has some issues in completing that promise. See the privacy policy here. 

Whatsapp company proposed a deadline of May 15 for accepting the new policy otherwise users will not be allowed to make calls or messaging contacts. The company made it clear that it is not necessary to accept the new privacy policy and non-acceptance of the updated policy will not have any effect on messaging friends and family. The policy states that the changes have been regarding "messages with the business" and these changes do not pertain to "messages with friends and family". With respect to "messages with business", Whatsapp claimed that these messages can be read by Facebook and used for marketing purposes. 

All this controversy started when Facebook acquired Whatsapp in 2014. Whatsapp issued a new privacy policy in 2016 stating that phone numbers will be linked with Facebook for showing relevant ads and better friend suggestions. In the recent 2021 policy, Whatsapp wants to share more data with Facebook which now includes Whatsapp Payment provision. Even though Whatsapp has reiterated continuously that user's chats are safe and their calls cannot be seen by anyone due to end-to-end encryption, the sharing of excessive data has raised many doubts among the users. If the users' chats and calls are safe and cannot be seen by anyone then why is it necessary to share more data with Facebook. This question has given everyone sleepless nights and with fear of using Whatsapp as they people think that their private pictures and chats will become public.

Due to all the chaos, the Supreme Court issued notice to Whatsapp and Facebook demanding answers regarding its new privacy policy. The apex court stated that people value their privacy more than the firm's policies. The court further stated that it does not want to examine the 2021 privacy policy as a separate batch of petitions regarding this policy is already been heard by the Delhi High Court. Requests have been made for the Supreme Court to examine the 2021 policy instead of waiting for the High Court to decide on the same. The Right to Privacy is a fundamental right of Indian citizens which Facebook and Whatsapp need to keep in mind while making their privacy policies. 

The main concern is that India does not have proper data privacy laws. The Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 has been juggling in Parliament for since 2 years. The privacy policy does not apply to Europe as they have data protection laws. If India comes up with a new law regarding data privacy then Whatsapp and Facebook would gladly adhere to it and there would have been any controversy in the first place.

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