Online messaging app WhatsApp told the Delhi High Court that it will shut down its operations in India if it is forced to break its end-to-end encryption and identify the original senders of messages on its platform.
This stance was presented by WhatsApp’s lawyer, Tejas Karia, during a hearing at the Delhi High Court where WhatsApp and its parent company Meta (formerly Facebook) have challenged Rule 4(2) of India’s 2021 Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.
Rule 4(2) requires significant social media intermediaries, like WhatsApp, to enable the identification of the original sender of information upon a lawful order.
WhatsApp argued that complying with this rule would necessitate breaking the end-to-end encryption that is central to its platform and the privacy it provides to users.
Karia stated that “if we are told to break encryption, then WhatsApp goes” as people use WhatsApp specifically because of its encryption and privacy features.
WhatsApp and Meta contended that this rule violates users’ fundamental right to privacy, as established by the Supreme Court’s Puttaswamy judgment.
The Indian government maintained that tracing the origin of information is necessary to combat misinformation and hate speech, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the Delhi High Court has acknowledged the petitions and scheduled the matter for further hearing on August 14, 2024.
(This is a developing story. The latest version will be updated)
