14 DAY TRIAL // WhatsApp has allegedly filed a lawsuit in Delhi against the Indian government seeking to prohibit regulations that go into effect on Wednesday. Experts fear the legislation can force Facebook's messaging app to violate privacy rules, according to Reuters.
According to persons familiar with the litigation, the complaint seeks the Delhi High Court to declare that one of the new IT rules violates privacy rights in the Indian constitution by requiring social media businesses to identify the original creator of the material when authorities demand it.
The WhatsApp lawsuit intensifies a developing conflict between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and digital titans such as Facebook, and Twitter in one of their main global growth markets.
Tensions flared this week after authorities raided Twitter's offices. The microblogging service stated that posts from a spokesperson for India's ruling party and others influenced the media and featured bogus content.
New Delhi has also requested technology companies to remove misinformation regarding the COVID -19 pandemic raging in India. More precisely, the criticism of the government's reaction to the disaster that claims thousands of lives every day.
WhatsApp says it won't break the encryption to comply with new rules
Considering that there are half a billion users in India, the privacy concerns are serious. While the new law merely mandates WhatsApp to identify those who have been credibly accused of wrongdoing, it states that in fact, WhatsApp cannot do so on its own.
Because communications are encrypted end-to-end, it would have to break the encryption for both recipients and senders in order to comply with the new rule.
When asked to comment on the case, WhatsApp said in a statement, "Compelling messaging apps to 'track' chats is the equivalent of requiring us to record a fingerprint of every single message exchanged on WhatsApp. This change would violate end-to-end encryption and fundamentally violate people's right to privacy".
Due to of the sensitivity of the matter, those familiar with the complaint declined to be identified.
While downloads of Signal and Telegram have increased in India, no app has a user base as large as WhatsApp. They have failed to respond to India's request for traceability.
Companies' reactions to the new restrictions have been the subject of much curiosity since they were announced in February, 90 days before they were to take effect.
WhatsApp's arguments are being supported by security experts
Stanford Internet Observatory scholar Riana Pfefferkorn wrote in March “The new traceability and filtering requirements may put an end to end-to-end encryption in India”.
Other legal challenges to the new laws are already in the works in Delhi and elsewhere.
Reporters argue that the underlying law does not justify extending technology laws to digital publishers, including applying criteria of decency and taste.