Opinion | Watching WhatsApp
1 min read . Updated: 18 Jun 2019, 08:22 PM ISTTo spot rumour mongers, the government has reportedly asked the social media platform to keep 'digital fingerprints' of every message
WhatsApp messages are encrypted end-to-end, so even the company can’t read them. So it claims. But to spot rumour mongers, the government has reportedly asked the social media platform to keep “digital fingerprints" of every message so that any forward can be traced back to its origin by the authorities, if need be. This may be technically possible, but it would place an undue burden on the service and infringe our privacy in the bargain. It would put WhatsApp users off, and if a hush descends on it, the baby of online free speech could get thrown out with the bathwater of fake news and other filth.
Every chat on the app serves as the equivalent of a free-wheeling conversation at home or among buddies. It allows us to express thoughts in private settings without the fear of consequences. It grants us the power to speak our minds. It makes space of spontaneity. When all this is compromised by every post being tagged by our identities, we watch our words, tone down our voices, and even go silent. It’s now for WhatsApp to work out how to respond to the government’s demand. To meet it, the platform may need to re-engineer itself. Since WhatsApp risks losing its unique selling proposition, its assurance of privacy, it has more to lose than gain by doing so.
Not that we can afford to look away from the perils of violence-sparking forwards. In tackling this menace, though, the focus should be on social rather than technological solutions. What we need is a big campaign to turn users of social media more discerning in their choice of what to believe and what source of information to trust. Perhaps WhatsApp could take the initiative on this.
