The Indian government is not pleased with WhatsApp’s new privacy policy. The nation’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has once again directed the Facebook-owned company to withdraw the planned update.
The Indian Government has sent a notice to WhatsApp asking it to withdraw a new privacy policy and has sought a response within seven days.
WhatsApp To Withdraw The Update To Its Privacy Policy?
In a letter to WhatsApp on Tuesday — which was read to TechCrunch — MeitY has given the popular instant messaging provider seven days to offer a “satisfactory” response. Failure to do so, the ministry warned, will prompt lawful measures.
“In fulfilment of its sovereign responsibility to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens, the government of India will consider various options available to it under laws in India,” the letter reads.
This is not the first time New Delhi has issued a notice to WhatsApp about the new privacy terms. Earlier this year, in a similar letter, the Indian government had expressed “grave concerns” about the planned update.
Deadline To Accept The New Privacy Policy
The deadline to accept the revised privacy policy was originally set for February 8, but due to public backlash, it was moved back to May 15 before being scrapped.
The new privacy policy aims to help WhatsApp grow its business in India and other markets by granting Facebook and third parties limited access to WhatsApp’s user data.
A spokesperson at the time told TechCrunch that the vast majority of users who had seen the new privacy terms on the app had accepted it.
With over 450 million users, India is WhatsApp’s biggest market by users.
WhatsApp Faces Criticism For Its Privacy Policy
WhatsApp has said in its response to a petition filed against its privacy policy update in the Delhi High Court that many Internet-based applications and websites have similar policies and that some even collect more data, according to a report.
In response to a petition filed in the Delhi High Court earlier this month, WhatsApp argued that many Indian firms maintain similar policies and share more data.
WhatsApp has also found out that platforms like food-delivery app Zomato, ride-hailing app Ola, the Indian government’s Aarogya Setu app, and video conferencing app Zoom collect a similar or greater amount of data, according to a report by Inc42.
“A review of the privacy policies of many internet-based applications and websites confirms that such policies include provisions describing the information they may collect that are similar to – and in many instances much broader than – those in the 2021 (WhatsApp privacy policy) Update,” the report quoted the affidavit filed by WhatsApp.
“It is not just problematic, but also irresponsible, for WhatsApp to leverage this position to impose unfair terms and conditions on Indian users, particularly those that discriminate against Indian users vis-à-vis users in Europe,” the ministry wrote in the letter.
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