WhatsApp found themselves facing a potential lawsuit, because of a humble middle finger emoji which they recently introduced for their users.
As per the petitioner, this emoji is breaking several Indian laws.
Meanwhile, we dig out an old Whatsapp post wherein they had announced non-availability of their app for few phones in 2018. Will your phone support WhatsApp in 2018?
Keep reading.
Legal Notice For Middle Finger?
A lawyer named Gurmeet Singh from New Delhi has slapped a legal case against WhatsApp for their middle finger emoji which appears in the chat options for users.
As per the petition, the middle finger is “not only offensive but a highly belligerent, invasive, obscene, lewd gesture..”
Citing Indian Penal Code Sections 354 and 509, the lawyer has petitioned that WhatsApp should immediately withdraw this emoji and protect Indians from obscene gestures.
The petition stated,
“As per the Indian Penal Code Sections 354 and 509, it is an offence to show obscene, lewd, offensive gestures to females. Use of a lewd, offensive, obscene gesture by anyone is hereby illegal also as aforesaid. As per section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 showing of the middle finger is also an offence in Ireland,”
Mr Singh has threatened civil or criminal cases against WhatsApp if they don’t remove this emoji within 15 days.
The middle finger expression is an ancient, ‘phallic gesture’, which dates back to thousands of years. The Greek and the Romans used this gesture to convey anger, happiness and even to sell their products.
Here is an interesting opinion, on when and how the humble middle finger become offensive, globally.
Will Your Phone Support Whatsapp In 2018?
Way back in 2016, WhatsApp had published a blog post, wherein they had mentioned few mobile phone models from Blackberry, Nokia and Apple which won’t be able to support Whatsapp in 2018.
Now, as 2017 ends and 2018 is about to begin, it is high time that you check and ensure that your Whatsapp experience is not hindered.
Here are the models:
- Nokia Symbian S60 after June 30, 2017
- BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10 after December 31, 2017
- Windows Phone 8.0 and older after December 31, 2017
- Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018
- Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020
iPhone 3GS/iOS 6 had stopped supporting Whatsapp since 2016.
You can find the complete blog here.