The WhatsApp messaging app will run on an Apple iPhone in San Anselmo, California on May 14, 2019. WhatsApp, Facebook’s messaging app, announced a cyber security breach that leaves users vulnerable to malicious spyware installation on iPhone and Android smartphones. WhatsApp encourages its 1.5 billion users to update the app as soon as possible.
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The Indian Ministry of Technology has asked WhatsApp, Facebook’s messaging giant, to withdraw planned changes to its privacy policy that have caused widespread backlash, multiple media outlets reported.
In an email addressed to WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart dated On Jan. 18, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said the proposed changes raised “grave concern” about the implications for Indian citizens’ choice and autonomy, Reuters reported.
The update specifically addresses features that allow users to interact with businesses on WhatsApp.
The ministry said it was reportedly concerned about the lack of choice Indian users had to opt out of WhatsApp’s planned policy update compared to those in Europe, where data protection rules are stricter. The Ministry of Technology reportedly called it “discriminatory treatment” that “betrays a lack of respect for the rights and interests of Indian citizens.”
“Therefore, you are requested to withdraw the proposed changes,” the ministry wrote, according to Reuters. The news report added that the ministry has asked WhatsApp to answer 14 questions, including the type of user data it has collected, if it profiles users based on their usage habits and on cross-border data flows.
CNBC could not independently verify the contents of the letters.
A WhatsApp spokesperson told CNBC in a statement, “We would like to emphasize that this update does not increase our ability to share data with Facebook.”
“Our goal is to provide transparency and new available options to engage with businesses so they can serve their customers and grow. WhatsApp will always protect personal messages with end-to-end encryption, so WhatsApp and Facebook don’t can see, “said the spokesman. said.
What is the update about?
WhatsApp later said the update will not change the end-to-end encryption of personal conversations, meaning the app and Facebook will still not be able to view private messages. WhatsApp also said it does not share people’s contacts with Facebook.
WhatsApp would start asking users on February 8 to accept those updated terms in order to continue using the app. Since then, the Facebook app said it would delay enforcement of the planned policy update until May 15, to give people more time to “review the policy at their own pace.”
India is a huge market for WhatsApp
India is one of the largest markets for WhatsApp with more than 400 million users. The company’s plans for the country go beyond just sending messages – starting last year, users will be able to send money through the app.
Be it WhatsApp, Facebook, or any other digital platform, you are free to do business in India … but do it in a way without violating the rights of Indians.
Ravi Shankar Prasad
India’s technology minister
“It has become a platform for many things. Small businesses and businesses are using WhatsApp to trade, pay and share salary data,” said Abishur Prakash, a geopolitical specialist at the Center for Innovating the Future (CIF), a Toronto-based established consulting firm, told CNBC by email. “This turns WhatsApp, an American service, into a new kind of infrastructure for doing business in India.”
The stakes for WhatsApp in India are very high, according to Prakash. He explained that there is a possibility that the messaging giant could change its policy “because of the strategic position of India in its strategy”.
Seen through the lens of technical sovereignty and data, New Delhi is looking to establish its own data frontiers after pushing for an open data market where major technology companies share information with Indian companies, Prakash said. “This makes the new WhatsApp policy contrary to the direction New Delhi is heading.”
On Tuesday, Indian tech minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had a few choice words for Facebook, WhatsApp and other tech companies operating in the country.
“Whether it’s WhatsApp, or Facebook, or any other digital platform, you are free to do business in India,” he said at a virtual event. “But do it in a way without compromising the rights of the Indians who operate there.”
“And the sanctity of personal communication must be maintained,” he added. “I know there will be pressure to share (data), but this is downright unacceptable.”
– CNBCs Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.