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Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Stephen Rose
CEO Render Networks
Continuing with its firm stance on traceability, the government stated that it has not sought decryption of WhatsApp messages but instead wants the location and identity of those misusing the platform to spread the fake news that provokes violence. IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who met WhatsApp Vice President Chris Daniels, also asserted that the “institutional integrity” of the platform be maintained ahead of elections. “On the issue of traceability, I emphasised that when we talk of traceability, we don’t talk of decrypting messages,” Prasad said.
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“We insist rather on location and identification of the sender of WhatsApp messages when such messages lead to provocation of violence, heinous offences and other serious crimes,” he said. The minister added that he has been assured by the WhatsApp leadership team that they will look into the matter and revert.
The Facebook-owned company has been under pressure for months now to put in place a mechanism to curb fake messages on its platform. Following multiple incidents of mob lynching across the country, the government had slapped WhatsApp with two notices, with the second one warning that it will treat the messaging platform as an abettor of rumour propagation and legal consequences will follow if adequate checks are not put in place.
Prasad had met Daniels in August this year too, and apart from the traceability request, he had asked WhatsApp to set up a local corporate entity and appoint a grievance officer to address complaints. “I met Chris Daniels, along with his team, on Wednesday and discussed various issues of the past. They have assured us that they have appointed a grievance officer for India. I have suggested that we will appreciate if grievance officer is also located in India,” Prasad said.
