The Centre on Friday filed a fresh affidavit before the Delhi High Court against WhatsApp opposing the pleas by Facebook and WhatsApp challenging the new IT rules for social media intermediaries. Urging the high court to dismiss the pleas, the Centre said they were not maintainable.
The Centre told the high court that WhatsApp is a foreign commercial entity and its plea challenging the constitutionality of any Indian law is hence not maintainable. It said WhatsApp doesn’t have a place of business in India and is engaged in the business of propagating information created by its users.
It further said WhatsApp’s new privacy policy which allows sharing of information with Facebook can harm national security, harmony and sovereignty. Defending the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 and its section allowing interception of messages, the government said that the same is necessary to prevent floating of information regarding rape crimes on the internet.
Raising alarm over WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, the Centre accused the social media platform of having violated users’ fundamental rights in India by denying them any dispute resolution rights in the country.
The new IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, were announced by the government on February 25 and requires large social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to comply with the norms by May 25.
The Facebook-owned WhatsApp in its plea said the requirement of intermediaries enabling the identification of the first originator of information in India upon government or court order puts end-to-end encryption and its benefits “at risk”.
WhatsApp LLC has urged the high court to declare Rule 4(2) of the Intermediary Rules as unconstitutional, ultra vires to the IT Act and illegal and sought that no criminal liability be imposed on it for any alleged non-compliance with Rule 4(2) which requires to enable the identification of the first originator of information.
WhatsApp, which has arrayed the Centre through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as a party to the petition, said the traceability provision is unconstitutional and against the fundamental right to privacy.
(With PTI Inputs)
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