The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre, Facebook and WhatsApp to file their responses on a plea challenging the messaging app's new privacy policy, which has come into effect from 15th May.
While hearing the plea, a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notices to the central government besides Facebook and WhatsApp seeking their stand. The plea filed by a lawyer contends that the new policy violates the right to privacy of users.
During the hearing, the Centre said that it views the new privacy policy of WhatsApp as a violation of the Indian Information Technology (IT) law and rules. It also sought directions to the social media platform to confirm if it was adhering to the same.
The Centre also said that it has written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the issue and a reply is awaited. It also argued that there was a need to maintain the status quo with regards to the implementation of the policy.
WhatsApp told the bench that the policy came into effect on May 15. However, it added that it will not delete accounts of those users who have not accepted it. The platform further stated that there is no uniform time limit to start deleting accounts as each user would be dealt with it on a case-to-case basis.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on June 3.
During the hearing, the Centre said that it views the new privacy policy of WhatsApp as a violation of the Indian Information Technology (IT) law and rules. It also sought directions to the social media platform to confirm if it was adhering to the same.
The Centre also said that it has written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the issue and a reply is awaited. It also argued that there was a need to maintain the status quo with regards to the implementation of the policy.
WhatsApp told the bench that the policy came into effect on May 15. However, it added that it will not delete accounts of those users who have not accepted it. The platform further stated that there is no uniform time limit to start deleting accounts as each user would be dealt with it on a case-to-case basis.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on June 3.