WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption, but dissatisfied customers are free to quit, Facebook tells SC
The firm’s representative said that since the contract with its users was in the private domain, the apex court could not test its privacy policy.
WhatsApp’s counsel on Friday told the Supreme Court that while the instant messaging service had ensured an end-to-end encryption privacy policy, dissatisfied users were free to quit the app. Representing the Facebook-owned platform, Kapil Sibal, said that since the contract between a user and WhatsApp was in the private domain, its privacy policy could not be tested constitutionally by the apex court, The Economic Times reported. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 15.
“Those who find the new privacy policy irksome or violative of their fundamental rights, can quit. We have given full freedom to users to withdraw from Facebook and WhatsApp,” said Facebook’s representative KK Venugopal.
The Supreme Court’s bench, however, pointed out that that would force the user to choose between negative options, The Economic Times reported. The petitioners’ counsel, Harish Salve, said users unknowingly allow WhatsApp and Facebook access to their messages. “They claim that this is being done to improve services to be given in future to users. Whether the snooping is done electronically or manually, the right to privacy of users gets breached. The government is duty bound to protect the fundamental right of every citizen. If it is failing, then the SC can surely issue appropriate directions,” the English daily quoted Salve as saying.
On April 6, the Department of Telecommunications had told the Supreme Court that it had plans to set up a framework to monitor over-the-top services, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and WeChat.
WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, which was unveiled in August last year, allows the company to share some user data, including phone numbers, with its parent company Facebook. A petition was filed by two users, alleging that the privacy of more than 157 million Indians had been compromised by the commercial use of their personal communication. On January 16, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the Centre and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had asked WhatsApp not to share user information with Facebook. In a ruling in September, the court had said that WhatsApp must delete the information of people who had opted out of its new privacy policy before September 25 last year.
