WhatsApp privacy policy: Delhi High Court adjourns firm's plea hearing to Aug 27

Responding to a move by WhatsApp to the Delhi High Court (HC) over the rules of traceability of messages, the HC adjourned the matter until August 27. The Facebook-owned messaging platform had 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, it had 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. Incidentally, the messaging platform's move had come 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 had said that that the people can continue to freely and safely express themselves on the platform. 

WhatsApp submits monthly reports under new IT rules

Acting upon the new IT rules, social media messaging platform- WhatsApp on July 15 submitted its monthly report informing that it has banned two million Indian accounts mostly due to spam messages. The report submitted by the messaging application also added that it received 345 grievance reports between May 15 and June 15. According to the new IT rules, digital platforms with more than five million users will have to submit a monthly compliance report with details of received complaints and action taken against it. 

Some of the other IT rules set by the Government:

• Intermediaries shall remove or disable access within 24 hours of receipt of complaints of contents that expose the private areas of individuals, show such individuals in full or partial nudity or in a sexual act or is in the nature of impersonation including morphed images etc. Such a complaint can be filed either by the individual or by any other person on his/her behalf
• Appoint a Chief Compliance Officer who shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and Rules. Such a person should be a resident of India
• Appoint a Nodal Contact Person for 24x7 coordination with law enforcement agencies. Such a person shall be a resident of India
• Appoint a Resident Grievance Officer who shall perform the functions mentioned under Grievance Redressal Mechanism. Such a person shall be a resident of India
• Publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken on the complaints as well as details of contents removed proactively by the significant social media intermediary

(Inputs from ANI)