WhatsApp uses 'loophole'! Moves HC against new IT rules traceability clause
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New Delhi, May 26: As the new IT Rules 2021 for social media platforms cames into force from today, Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has filed a legal complaint in Delhi High Court against the Indian govt, seeking to block regulations. According to the Live Law, the company filed the petition on May 25, which was the last day to comply with the guidelines. WhatsApp has invoked Supreme Court's verdict in the 2017 Justice K S Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs Union Of India to filed compliant against govt.
What is the New IT Rule?
In February 2021, the government notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 and issued the new guidelines on social media. The new guidelines on social media were framed in accordance with section 87 (2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
As per the new social media rules, Social Media Giants will have to take down the unlawful content within 36 hours after a government directive or a legal order. Social media intermediaries will lose protection from lawsuits and criminal prosecution if they fail to adhere to the code.
Moreover, social media intermediaries with more than 5 million users and providing messaging services will have to enable the identification of the first originator of problematic content that may harm the country’s interests and several other provisions described in the rules.
The new rules mandate that the intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, must establish a grievance redressal mechanism for receiving/resolving complaints from the users or victims. Social media platforms can work in India as per the government, but they need to follow the Constitution and laws of India.
How Whatsapp has used loopholes?
In the plea, it has challenged New IT rules, "traceability" clause arguing that this traceability provision is against the fundamental right to privacy. WhatsApp has asked the HC to declare one of the new rules as a violation of privacy rights as per India's Constitution since it requires social media companies to “identify the first originator of information” whenever authorities demand it.
According to WhatsApp, Traceability would force private companies to collect and store who-said-what and who-shared-what for billions of messages sent each day. This will require platforms to collect more data than they need, solely for the purpose of turning it over to law enforcement agencies.
In its FAQ the company said that to comply with the law WhatsApp says it would have break encryption for receivers, as well as "originators", of messages. According to Whatsapp, this will break the security and privacy of the product.
Incidentally, the messaging platform's move comes a day after Facebook expressed intent to comply with the provisions of the new IT rules.
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