The WhatsApp messaging app is shown on an Apple iPhone on May 14, 2019 in San Anselmo, California. Facebook’s proprietary messaging app, WhatsApp, announced a cybersecurity violation that makes users vulnerable to the installation of malicious spyware for iPhone and Android smartphones. WhatsApp encourages its 1.5 billion users to update the app as soon as possible.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
India’s technology ministry has asked the Facebook-owned messaging giant to withdraw planned changes to its privacy policy that have sparked widespread reaction, various media outlets reported.
In an email addressed to the head of WhatsApp Will Cathcart dated On January 18, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said the proposed changes raised “serious concerns” about the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens, Reuters reported.
The update is specifically related to features that allow users to interact with WhatsApp companies.
According to reports, the ministry said it was concerned about the lack of choice that Indian users had to choose not to update the planned WhatsApp policy compared to those in Europe, where data protection rules are stricter. . According to reports, the technology ministry described it as “discriminatory treatment” that “betrays a lack of respect for the rights and interests of Indian citizens.”
“Therefore, you are called to withdraw the proposed changes,” the ministry reported, according to Reuters. The statement added that the ministry has asked WhatsApp to answer 14 questions, including the type of user data it collected, whether it defined users based on their usage habits and cross-border data flows.
CNBC was unable to independently verify the contents of the letters.
A WhatsApp spokesman told CNBC in a statement: “We want to reinforce that this update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.”
“Our goal is to provide transparency and new options available to interact with businesses so they can serve their customers and grow. WhatsApp will always protect end-to-end encrypted personal messages so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see them,” he said. say the said spokesman.
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 contacts with Facebook.
WhatsApp was due to start asking users on February 8 to accept these updated terms to continue using the app. Since then, the app owned by Facebook said it would delay the implementation of its 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 WhatsApp markets with over 400 million users. The company’s plans for the country extend beyond messaging – starting last year, users can send money through the app.
Whether it’s WhatsApp, be it Facebook, be it any other digital platform, you are free to do business in India … but do it in a way without affecting the rights of Indians.
Ravi Shankar Prasad
The Minister of Technology of India
“It has become a platform for many things. Small businesses and corporations use WhatsApp to trade, pay and share payroll data,” said Abishur Prakash, a geopolitics specialist at the Center for Innovating the Future (CIF). a Toronto-based company. consulting firm, has informed CNBC by email. “This makes WhatsApp, an American service, a new kind of infrastructure for doing business in India.”
According to Prakash, WhatsApp betting in India is very high. He explained that there is a possibility that the messaging giant may change its policy “because of India’s strategic position in its strategy.”
When viewed from the goal of sovereignty and data technology, New Delhi wants to establish its own data boundaries after driving an open data market where large technology companies share information with Indian companies, Prakash said. “This makes the new WhatsApp policy contrary to the direction of New Delhi.”
On Tuesday, India’s technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad chose a few words for Facebook, WhatsApp and other technology companies operating in the country.
“Be it WhatsApp, be it Facebook, be it any other digital platform, is it free to do business in India,” he said, speaking at a virtual event. “But do it in a way that doesn’t affect the rights of the Indians who operate there.”
“And the sanctity of personal communications needs to be maintained,” he added. “I know there will be pressure to share (data, however) this is clearly unacceptable.”
– CNBC Arjun kharpal has contributed to this report.