WhatsApp Refuses SEBI’s Request For Data Access; Allows Messages To Be Deleted Until 1 Hour!
Invoking the Right to Privacy feature for both their app and their users, WhatsApp has straightaway refused to share details with SEBI.
World’s largest messaging app: WhatsApp has straightway refused to share details about their users to market regulator SEBI.
This is unprecedented in nature because Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the foremost market regulator.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp has extended the duration for deletion of messages. Now, users can delete their message till 1 hour from the time they sent the message.
Earlier, it was limited to just 7 minutes.
WhatsApp To SEBI: No, We Cannot Share Users’ Details!
Invoking the Right to Privacy feature for both their app and their users, WhatsApp has straightaway refused to share details with SEBI.
This is regarding the case wherein unlisted, unpublished sensitive data pertaining to companies’ share prices and strategies were leaked by unnamed users on WhatsApp last year.
After this incident, SEBI launched a massive crackdown on the stock dealers, agents and some investors in order to catch the culprits.
The investigation narrowed down to WhatsApp, as the ultimate details were with them.
When SEBI asked WhatsApp to share the details, names of the numbers which shared that sensitive information, they received a negative reply.
A report on Business Standard stated:
“The root source of information can be very effective in zeroing down on the culprits. However, based on the response received from WhatsApp, it is clear that the social media firm is not keen to oblige.”
As per insider reports, WhatsApp has asked SEBI to prove that the information leaked on their app was indeed used to illegal stock related activities. If that’s not proved, they cannot share info.
Note here that, that under current regulations, WhatsApp is not obliged to share their users’ private data. However, SEBI can approach the higher court, but that can turn things ugly, igniting debate over privacy, and law enforcement.
SEBI, as per reports, is right now in a fix.
Stop The Embarrassment: Messages Can Now Be Deleted For an Hour!
Meanwhile, after listening to users’ inputs regarding the feature of message deletion, WhatsApp has now extended the time period to 1 hour.
Launched in October last year, WhatsApp allowed messages to be deleted within 7 minutes of sending. Users complained that the time duration is very less.
As per an observation by WABetaInfo.com, messages can be now deleted till 60 minutes,
Is it a useful feature?
Do let us know by commenting right here!
