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Updated August 27th, 2021 at 15:51 IST

Delhi HC seeks Centre's stand on WhatsApp's plea challenging new IT Rules 2021

The Delhi HC on Friday sought a response from the Centre over the petitions filed by Whatsapp and Facebook challenging the vires of the New IT Rules 2021.

Reported by: Ananya Bhatnagar
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Image Credits: Unsplash/Shutterstock | Image:self
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The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a response from the central government over the petitions filed by social media giants Whatsapp and Facebook challenging the vires of the new IT Rules 2021. A division bench of the High Court presided by Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued a notice to the central government and posted the matter for further hearing on October 22.

Whatsapp had challenged the new rules on the grounds that it would require them to “trace” the origin of messages sent on the platform. The Facebook-owned messaging platform reportedly filed the petition on May 25, which was the last day to comply with the guidelines.

Invoking the Supreme Court's verdict in the 2017 Justice K S Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs Union Of India case, WhatsApp has argued that the traceability provision is against the fundamental right to privacy. In its petition, WhatsApp has sought direction from the court to declare the aforesaid traceability provision unconstitutional and prevent criminal liability to its employees for non-compliance. WhatsApp also pointed out its 'end-to-end privacy' promise to its users.

Incidentally, the messaging platform's move comes a day after Facebook expressed intent to comply with the provisions of the new IT rules. Mentioning that it will continue to discuss some issues with the government, a spokesperson stressed that people can continue to freely and safely express themselves on the platform.

Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Harish Salve represent the two social media giants while the Centre is represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma.  

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Published August 27th, 2021 at 15:51 IST

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