WhatsApp to treat Indian users in a different manner: Centre to Delhi High Court

The Centre told to Delhi High Court om Monday that WhatsApp has been given a different treatment to the Indian users in contrast to the European users with respect to opting out of the new privacy policy launched, and this is a matter of concern to be resolved by the Government.

The Central government also told High Court that this is a matter to be addressed especially as the Indian users are subjected to ‘unilateral’ treatment. The submission was heard by Justice Sanjjev Sachadeva in the hearing which was about the petition lodged by a lawyer against the new privacy policy raised by the social media platform.

Amid the hearing, Sharma iterated that by not giving Indian users the choice to opt out of the sharing their data with the other platforms connected to Facebook, WhatsApp prima facie seems to be given the ‘all or nothing approach’ sort of treatment to the users.

He said to the court, “This leverages the social significance of WhatsApp to force users into a bargain which may infringe on their interests in information privacy and information security.”

Sharma revealed about the government taking the necessary steps to understand the issue and have also taken the step to address it to WhatsApp to seek the comprehensive information.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who is representing WhatsApp in the case responded in the court about the details being received and that the company will shortly respond to it. After which, the court adjourned the case and gave the next hearing to be scheduled for March 1.

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