The Centre has instructed the Delhi High Court that social messaging platform WhatsApp was attempting to “force” its customers to consent to the brand new privateness coverage earlier than the Personal Data Protection Bill turns into the regulation by bombarding them with notifications day by day to acquire their consent.
Terming WhatsApp’s bombarding of notifications on its prospects as an “anti-user practice” for acquiring “trick consent”, the central authorities has urged the courtroom to direct the messaging platform to desist from pushing notifications onto its present customers with regard to the brand new privateness coverage.
The Centre’s declare has been made in an extra affidavit filed in response to a number of pleas difficult the brand new privateness coverage of WhatsApp.
A WhatsApp spokesperson responded to the affidavit, “We reiterate that we have already responded to the Government of India and assured them that the privacy of users remains our highest priority. As a reminder, the recent update does not change the privacy of people’s personal messages. Its purpose is to provide additional information about how people can interact with businesses if they choose to do so.”
“We will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works in the coming weeks. Instead, we will continue to remind users from time to time about the update as well as when people choose to use relevant optional features, like communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook. We hope this approach reinforces the choice that all users have whether or not they want to interact with a business. We will maintain this approach until at least the forthcoming PDP law comes into effect,” the spokesperson added.
One of the pleas, which was the primary one to be filed, was moved by Chaitanya Rohilla, a lawyer, in January this yr.
Rohilla, represented by advocate Manohar Lal, has contended that the up to date privateness coverage violates customers’ proper to privateness beneath the Constitution they usually can both settle for it or exit the app, however they can’t decide to not share their knowledge with different Facebook-owned or third get together apps.
The plea has claimed that the brand new privateness coverage of WhatsApp permits full entry right into a consumer’s on-line exercise with out there being any supervision by the federal government.
In its extra affidavit, which helps the petitioners claims, the Centre has mentioned the privateness coverage violates the foundations because it fails to specify varieties of delicate private knowledge being collected and likewise fails to inform customers about particulars of the delicate private data which is collected.
Besides, the coverage additionally doesn’t present an choice to customers to evaluation or amend the knowledge, doesn’t present an choice to withdraw consent retrospectively and likewise fails to ensure additional nondisclosure by third events, the affidavit has mentioned.
It has additionally said that WhatsApp was “indulging in anti-users practices by obtaining ”trick consent” from the users for its updated privacy policy”.
“It is submitted that millions of WhatsApp existing users, those who have not accepted the updated 2021 privacy policy are being bombarded with notifications on an everyday basis,” it has mentioned.
The authorities has mentioned that WhatsApp “has unleashed its digital prowess to the unsuspecting existing users and would like to force them to accept the updated 2021 privacy policy by flashing such notifications at a regular intervals”.
“The game plan is very clear, i.e., to transfer the entire existing user base committed to the updated 2021 privacy policy before the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill becomes the law,” the federal government has mentioned in its affidavit.
The authorities has sought instructions to WhatsApp to position on report the variety of instances such notifications have been despatched out until date on day by day foundation and what was the conversion price – that’s what number of have accepted the up to date 2021 privateness coverage vis-a-vis the variety of notifications.
The central authorities has additional mentioned that WhatsApp “is currently having access to personal, sensitive, and business data of hundreds of millions of Indian users and has also acquired role of an ”essential digital service” during COVID-19 pandemic”, and thus, it was crucial that it privateness coverage and phrases of service “should be examined on the touchstone of privacy principles as laid down in K S Puttaswamy” judgement of the Supreme Court.
