Recently, several news organizations claimed that Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms could be banned in India starting May 26. It didn’t happen but the reason behind this misinformation was India’s new Information technology rules 2020. Now WhatsApp has sued the Indian government for the same IT Rules 2021.
The IT Rules 2021 aim to make social media platforms accountable for the content they host. So, it asks platforms to appoint a resident grievance officer active monitoring of content on the platform, instantly take down problematic content including revenge porn after the complaint, self-regulation, monthly compliance reports for Indian users, and more.
WhatsApp claims that certain requirements of IT Rules 2021 would break the end-to-end encryption of the platform. As the company is committed to protecting people’s privacy, it isn’t possible for the company to implement all guidelines imposed by the new IT rules. WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption since 2016 that makes users’ conversations unreadable for the company itself.
The controversial rule is the one that asks social media companies to identify the origin of a message if demanded by the authorities. WhatsApp says that this rule cannot be implemented without breaking the end-to-end encryption. It fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy.
Facebook has confirmed that they will be complying with the IT Rules of 2021 while Twitter hasn’t talked about IT rules recently. It seems there will be several heated debates in the coming days about the new IT rules.
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