Report by Prerna Deep:
The Delhi high court has given a green signal to WhatsApp’s new privacy policy. The HC took this decision today. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva added that to accept the privacy policy or not is voluntary. People can switch to another messaging app instead of Whatsapp. “It is a private app. Don’t join it. It is a voluntary thing, don’t accept it. Use some other app,” Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said to the petitioner, a lawyer, who has challenged WhatsApp’s new privacy policy. The new policy is to come into effect in February but now has deferred till May.
In response to the ongoing issues, He added- “You would be surprised as to what all you are consenting to if you go through the terms&conditions of the apps you are using.” He also mentioned that Google apps also captures all your data and stores it. WhatsApp and Facebook in their favor came with a counter represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Mukul Rohatgi. They told the court that the plea filed against Whatsapp’s new privacy policy was without any solid foundations. They further added their points to the court that private chat messages between family and friends would remain encrypted.
Under the new privacy policy, The change would only affect the business chats on WhatsApp. However, The lawyer appearing for the petitioner claimed that the option of choice was given to Europian Nations, not in India.
