WhatsApp privacy policy put on hold till data protection Bill comes into force

WhatsApp told the Delhi High Court on Friday that till the data protection Bill comes into force, it will not compel users to opt for its new privacy policy, as it has been put on hold. WhatsApp also clarified before a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh that it would not limit the functionality for users who are not opting for the new privacy policy in the meantime. Appearing for the instant messaging platform, Senior Advocate Harish Salve said, "We voluntarily agreed to put it (the policy) on hold... we will not compel people to accept."

Salve said that WhatsApp would nonetheless continue to display the update to its users. The court is hearing the appeals of Facebook and its firm WhatsApp against the single-judge order refusing to stop the competition regulator CCI's order directing a probe into WhatsApp's new privacy policy.

The CCI had earlier told the court that it was not examining the alleged violation of individuals’ privacy which was being looked into by the Supreme Court. CCI had said that since there is a statutory order against Facebook and WhatsApp, they should not use the High Court’s order and say that they will not furnish the information sought by CCI and the information should not be stalled at this stage.

CCI had argued before the court that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp would lead to excessive data collection and “stalking” of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is therefore an alleged abuse of dominant position.

In January, the CCI on its own decided to look into WhatsApp’s new privacy policy on the basis of news reports regarding the same.

The two social media platforms had contended that when the top court and the Delhi High Court were looking into the privacy policy, CCI ought not to have “jumped the gun” and intervened in the issue. They had also said that CCI’s decision was an abuse of the commission’s suo motu jurisdiction.

The two companies had said that the CCI in the instant case had “drifted far away” from the competition aspect and was looking into privacy issues which were already being looked into by the apex court and the Delhi High Court.

Under the new privacy policy, WhatsApp has said that user data will be shared across Facebook and the companies it owns. This includes mobile phone number and basic information provided when a WhatsApp account is created. Information can also be used by Facebook and its other products to make suggestions, personalise features and content, help complete purchases and transactions, and show relevant offers and ads across the Facebook Company Products.

While initially, WhatsApp had said that those who do not accept the privacy policy will not be able to use the platform, it later said that it was limiting functionality for those who didn’t accept the terms by the due date. WhatsApp has said it is continuing to remind those who haven't had the chance to review and accept the terms, and after a period of several weeks, "the reminder (that) people receive will eventually become persistent".

The policy was met with severe opposition, including from the Union government. Meity called WhatsApp’s move to leverage its position to impose its terms and conditions in the Indian market “irresponsible”. The privacy policy changes undermine values of privacy, data security and harms the rights of Indian citizens, the letter had said.

With PTI inputs