WhatsApp has been asked by the government to scrap its privacy policy of 2021. The new privacy policy aimed to collect the personal data of the users and share it with the parent organisation WhatsApp.
WhatsApp recently said that it is deferring the implementation of the policy beyond May 15. Post-May 15, users who hadn’t accepted the privacy policy would only be able to access limited features of the app. However, according to an ET Telecom report, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has now asked WhatsApp to remove its new privacy policy.
WhatsApp Has Seven Days to Respond to the Letter
WhatsApp has been given seven days to respond to the letter sent by the ministry. According to the government, the new privacy policy and the way in which it was introduced undermines the sacrosanct values of data security and informational privacy.
If WhatsApp fails to respond to the notice or if there’s no satisfactory response, then the government will consider several options that are available to the users under its law.
Even though WhatsApp has deferred the new privacy policy acceptance date beyond May 15, it doesn’t mean the company is respecting the values of informational privacy. The ministry has further communicated with the Delhi High Court that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp isn’t in line with the IT laws of India.
The letter sent to WhatsApp highlights that Indian users haven’t been given the same option to reject the privacy policies that the users living in Europe have been provided with. This is a strong move by the government and one that will be appreciated by almost every WhatsApp user living in India.
Hopefully, WhatsApp, an application that millions of Indians use to communicate on a daily removes its mandatory position of making the users accept the new privacy policy. The privacy policy of WhatsApp was announced back in January.
However, one thing still stands unclear. If the new privacy policy is scrapped, then what will happen with the users who already accepted the terms and conditions. Even this matter will be crucial for the government to tackle since millions of Indians have already accepted the policies to be able to keep using the application.
