TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ The government has ordered WhatsApp to withdraw its controversial new privacy policy, saying the changes undermine the sacrosanct values of privacy, data security and harms rights and interests of Indian citizens. The ministry of electronics and IT shot off a letter to WhatsApp on May 18 on the issue, sources said and warned that necessary steps in accordance with law will be taken if a satisfactory response was not received within seven days.
The ministry has taken a strong position on the matter, and made it clear that it is not just problematic but also “irresponsible” for the messaging platform to leverage its position to impose “unfair” terms and conditions on Indian users, when many depend on WhatsApp to communicate in everyday life, according to the sources.
When contacted, a WhatsApp spokesperson said the company continues to engage with the government. “… we reaffirm what we said before that this update does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone… we’ll take every opportunity to explain how we protect people’s personal messages and private information,” the spokesperson added.
