WhatsApp Moves Delhi High Court Against IT Rules 2021

WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging platform, has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the information technology rules that could dilute its ‘end-to-end encryption’ protection granted to users.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 add a number of new compliance requirements on tech companies, including messaging apps like WhatsApp, to identify first originator of the information circulating on the app for the purposes of:

• Prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of an offence related to sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states.

• 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 punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than five years.

According to a WhatsApp spokesperson, requiring messaging apps to “trace” chats is the equivalent of asking them to keep a fingerprint of every single message sent on WhatsApp, which would break end-to-end encryption and fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy.

“We have consistently joined civil society and experts around the world in opposing requirements that would violate the privacy of our users. In the meantime, we will also continue to engage with the Government of India on practical solutions aimed at keeping people safe, including responding to valid legal requests for the information available to us,” the WhatsApp spokesperson told BloombergQuint in an emailed statement.

The company has also added a page on the frequently asked questions section on its website, detailing the opposition to traceability requirements. Traceability, it said, breaks the protection of end-to end encryption provided to every user as in order to trace one message it will have to trace every message.

So far, the IT Rules 2021 have been challenged by digital news companies. The Delhi High Court will take up those petitions for hearing on May 27.

WhatsApp’s petition is among the first to challenge the rules with respect to traceability requirements. The date of its hearing is not known yet.