Centre on WhatsApp lawsuit: 'New rules won't affect app's functioning, users'

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday issued a clarification on WhatsApp's lawsuit against new IT rules saying the none of the measures proposed by India will impact the normal functioning of WhatsApp in any manner whatsoever and will not impact the users.
The government said it respects the right of privacy and has no intention to violate it.
"When WhatsApp is required to disclose the origin of a particular message. Such requirements are only in case when the message is required for prevention, Investigation or punishment of very serious offences related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order, or of incitement to an offence relating to the above or in relation with rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material," ministry of electronics & IT clarified in a statement.

The government further said that no fundamental right, including the right to privacy, is absolute and it "is subject to reasonable restrictions".
"The requirements in the intermediary guidelines pertaining to the first originator of information are an example of such a reasonable restriction," it added.
The UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada require social media firms to allow for legal interception, it said, adding, "What India is asking for is significantly much less than what some of the other countries have demanded."
The IT ministry also said that the WhatsApp's challenge to intermediary guidelines was an unfortunate attempt to prevent norms from coming into effect.
"It is in public interest that who started the mischief leading to such crime must be detected and punished. We cannot deny as to how in cases of mob lynching and riots etc. repeated WhatsApp messages are circulated and recirculated whose content are already in public domain. Hence the role of who originated is very important," the Centre stated.
Earlier today, WhatsApp filed a lawsuit in the Delhi high court challenging the government's new digital rules saying the requirement for the company to provide access to encrypted messages will break privacy protections.
The petition, filed on Tuesday evening, seeks declaring the rule requiring the message service provider to identify the first originator of any message flagged as a violation of privacy rights provided by the constitution.