Delhi High Court seeks Centre's response on plea against WhatsApp's new privacy policy

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the Centre and social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp on a PIL challenging the new privacy policy of the messaging application. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh issued a notice to the Centre, Facebook and WhatsApp and asked them to submit their stand on the plea by May 13. 

Delhi HC seeks Centre's stand

As WhatsApp told the Delhi HC bench that private conversation of individuals is protected by end-to encryption, the petitioner, Harsha Gupta, urged the court to issue some interim orders as WhatsApp intends to bring its policy into effect from May 15. After this, the Delhi HC listed the matter for hearing on May 13. 

Earlier on April 22, the Delhi HC had dismissed Facebook and WhatsApp's pleas challenging a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order for an investigation into the messaging application's new privacy policy. the Delhi HC had observed that the order of the CCI does not reflect an investigation into abuse of dominant position and rather appears to be concerned with privacy issues of consumers. This observation by the court came in response to CCI's stand that it was not examining the alleged violations of individual's privacy which was being looked into by the Supreme Court.

Facebook & WhatsApp file pleas in Delhi HC challenging CCI's order directing a probe

Facebook and Whatsapp have challenged the CCI's March 24 order directing a probe into the new privacy policy. CCI had also told the court that only after the investigation can it be determined whether the data collection by WhatsApp and sharing it with Facebook would amount to an anti-competitive practice or abuse of dominant position.

Meanwhile, the CCI had also contended that the data collected, which would include an individual's location, the kind of device used, their internet service provider and whom they are conversing with, would lead to the creation of a customer profile and preference which would be monetised by way of targeted advertising and all this amounts to "stalking".

The two social media platforms, on the other hand, had contended that when the top court and the Delhi High Court were looking into the privacy policy, then 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.

They claimed that the CCI in the instant case has "drifted far away" from the competition aspect and was looking into the privacy issue which was already being looked into by the apex court and the Delhi High Court. The two social media platforms had also told the court that private conversations continued to be protected by end-to-end encryption and WhatsApp cannot read what people message each other.

They had also contended that most of the data generated belonged to WhatsApp as the only data provided by customers was their phone number which is required to register on the messaging platform. 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.

(Image: PTI, Pixabay)