WhatsApp's new privacy policy doesn't conform to India's information technology (IT) rules, the central government told The Delhi High Court.
The world's largest messaging service has now been asked to clarify its position on the rules.
WhatsApp's updated privacy policy came into effect on May 15. Facebook Inc-owned has said that while it would not immediately delete accounts of users who do not agree to the policy, it'll slowly start restricting access.
The central government's claim was made before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh during the hearing of several pleas challenging WhatsApp's new privacy policy, which according to the platform has come into effect from May 15 and has not been deferred.
During the hearing, the Centre said that according to it the policy was in violation of Indian IT laws and rules.
It said it has written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the issue and a reply is awaited and therefore, there was a need to maintain the status quo with regard to the implementation of the policy.
WhatsApp, opposing the contention, said it was conforming to Indian IT law and rules and added that its policy has come into effect from May 15, but it won't be deleting accounts right away.
“The implementation of the new terms has not been deferred, as submitted to the court. That said, even if users have not accepted the revised policy, their accounts are not proposed to be deleted immediately," said Raj Ramachandran, partner at J Sagar Associates. "Considering the entrenched use of the app and given the current pandemic, (it's) unlikely that there will be any significant shift. However, the users’ concern being of the unknown, given the confusion surrounding the revised policy, may lead them to choose additional apps to stay connected.”
When the matter was initially listed before a single judge, the Centre had said that WhatsApp was treating Indian users differently from Europeans over opting out of its new privacy policy which was a matter of concern for the government and it was looking into the issue.
It had also said it was also a matter of concern that Indian users were being "unilaterally" subjected to the change in privacy policy by the instant messaging platform and that the government was looking into it.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on June 3.
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