WhatsApp may exit India due to IT rules 2021. Know the details below; During the court hearing, a lawyer representing WhatsApp informed the Delhi High Court that if the messaging platform is forced to break the encryption of messages, it would have no choice but to leave India. The lawyer emphasized that people rely on WhatsApp because it guarantees privacy. It ensures that messages are securely encrypted from end to end.
WhatsApp objected on IT rules 2021
These statements were made as the High Court was addressing the petitions filed by WhatsApp and its parent company, Facebook Inc (now known as Meta), against the 2021 Information Technology (IT) rules for social media intermediaries. These rules demand that the messaging app trace chats and make arrangements to identify users. The Centre announced the Information Technology Rules, 2021 on February 25, 2021. These rules require popular social media platforms to follow the new guidelines. These social media platforms are; Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram.During the court hearing, lawyer Tejas Karia representing WhatsApp stated, “If we are asked to compromise encryption, then WhatsApp will no longer exist as a platform.” This was reported by Bar and Bench. The judge wondered if any other country has a similar law.“The rule doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. Not even in Brazil,” the lawyer answered. The court also mentioned that privacy rights are not absolute. There needs to be a balance. On the other hand, the lawyer representing the government said that the rule is important when harmful content is shared on platforms during incidents like communal violence.
