Supreme Court – Write It Down That Users’ Data Will Not Be Shared With Third Party
Friyana Munshi
India, February 16, 2021: Instant messaging app has been reprimanded by the Supreme Court on Monday amidst controversy over WhatsApp’s new privacy policy. The Supreme Court has asked WhatsApp to submit in writing that users’ data will not be shared with any third party. The court has issued notices to Facebook, Central Government, and WhatsApp in the matter and postponed the next hearing of the case for four weeks.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde affirmed, “People are extremely concerned about their privacy. WhatsApp may be a company of two trillion or three trillion, but privacy is more important than money”
The court has passed a decision regarding the 2016 WhatsApp policy. Karmanya Singh Sarin filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2016 against WhatsApp’s privacy policy. According to the petition, the data of users from WhatsApp has been shared with Facebook ever since Facebook bought WhatsApp. The matter remains pending with the constitutional bench of the SC.
Shyam Dewan, counsel for the petitioner, also explained in court that WhatsApp discriminates against Indian users as compared to European users. At the same time, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is pleading in the court on behalf of WhatsApp, said that no sensitive personal information is being shared with third parties. He also affirmed that the case remains pending in the Delhi High Court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present in the court on behalf of the Center, told the Supreme court, ‘Whether there is a law or not, the right to privacy is part of the fundamental rights. WhatsApp should protect the right to privacy. They should not share the data.”
Under the new WhatsApp policy, users can either accept or stop using the app. Users do not have the option of using the app without accepting the policies.
