New Delhi: The Indian government has once again has once asked WhatsApp to roll back its new privacy policy.
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) has given the Facebook-owned company seven days’ time to respond to the notice, stating that if a satisfactory response is not received, necessary steps will be taken.
WhatsApp earlier said that it had deferred the controversial new policy beyond May 15, 2021.
But the Ministry on Wednesday said that deferral of the privacy policy beyond May 15 does not absolve WhatsApp from respecting values of informational privacy, data security and user choice for Indian users.
“As you’re doubtlessly aware, many Indian citizens depend on WhatsApp to communicate in everyday life. It is not just problematic, but also irresponsible for WhatsApp to leverage this position to impose unfair terms and conditions on Indian users, particularly those that discriminate against Indian users vis-à-vis users in Europe,” the Ministry pointed out.
Not for the first time, the Ministry drew WhatsApp’s attention to how its new privacy Policy violates several provisions of Indian rules and laws. So if those issues are not addressed, the Government of India will consider various options under laws of the lands.
