Why does WhatsApp threatens to leave India?

Four years ago, WhatsApp gained immense limelight due to its drastic policy changes, and now, it is gaining all the media headlines again. The giant messaging company has given an ultimatum stating that it will pull off its services in India in case it is forced to compromise of its end to end encryption or compelled to diverge the user information to the government.

The scenario came to light at the Delhi High Court. Meta and WhatsApp filed a plea that challenged the 2021 IT rules of India for social media intermediaries. Meta and WhatsApp stood against the requirement of the IT rules to identify the initial source of data.

WhatsApp was represented by Tejas Karia. He expressed saying, "If we are told to break encryption, then WhatsApp goes." Here is all you need to know about the matter.

The IT Rules of India 2021

The Indian government presented the new guidelines for social media platforms in the year 2021. The guidelines made the appointment of key compliance officers mandatory. The guidelines also mandated the monthly compliance reports to be publicized. Also, a provision also asked for the identification of the "first originator" of the messages. These triggered massive concerns over the privacy of the users. Ever since these rules have been unveiled, they have attracted several legal challenges.

What did WhatsApp say?

What makes WhatsApp different from others is its commitment towards end-end encryption. This ensures that the media and messages remain confidential between the one who sent them and the ones who received them. However, according to what the company believes, breaking this encryption would eventually violate the fundamental right to privacy of the users. Therefore, the company is demanding for judicial intervention thereby challenging the Rule 4 (2) of the intermediary rule. The company believes that this rule is rather unconstitutional.