WhatsApp treats Indian and European users differently, says Centre

The Centre told the Delhi High Court on Monday (January 25) that WhatsApp has different set of privacy rules for European and Indian users. WhatsApp, meanwhile, tried to allay  such concerns saying it will soon clarify all doubts raised by the Union government with regards to user privacy.

During the hearing of a petition challenging the new privacy policy of WhatsApp, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the court that the government has sent a list of questions to WhatsApp.

“Privacy policy offered by WhatsApp to its European users specifically prevents the use of any information shared with a Facebook company…this clause is not present in the privacy policy offered to Indians and Indian citizens who form a very, very substantial part of WhatsApp’s user base,” said Sharma, during the hearing of a petition challenging the new privacy policy of WhatsApp.

The additional solicitor general told the court that changes proposed by the world’s biggest messaging app were “rather unilateral because they did not give Indian users the chance to opt out”. In response, the Delhi High Court stated that WhatsApp services are voluntary. “It is not something which makes it mandatory for you to download…,” Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said, adding that many other applications, too, put up such terms and conditions.

The Centre, it seems, is treating WhatsApp’s new policy changes as “take it or leave it” for consumers. “This leverages the social significance of WhatsApp to force users into a bargain which may infringe on the interest in relation to information privacy and information security,” additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma said in the Delhi High Court.

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Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing WhatsApp, said, “We are responding to it. This is all misinformation.”

The Delhi High Court deferred hearing of the matter to March 1. It was hearing a petition filed by a Chaitanya Rohilla, through advocate Manohar Lal, seeking an injunction with immediate effect against WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy. The petitioner also wants the Centre to be told to prepare guidelines so that WhatsApp does not ever get to share any user data with any third party or Facebook and its companies for any purpose. The petitioner told the court that the latest policy violates the right to privacy of citizens of India.

Advocate Manohar Lal also argued that WhatsApp’s latest privacy policy takes away the user’s choice to not share his/her data with Facebook or any other third-party app.

WhatsApp users were earlier told to “accept” the company’s new privacy policy by February 8 without fail if they wanted to continue using the messaging app. However, looking at the public outrage, the company has deferred the date of implementation to May 15.