• Home
  • Apps
  • Apps News
  • WhatsApp, Centre Gets Supreme Court Notice on Plea Over Lower Privacy Standards for Indian Users

WhatsApp, Centre Gets Supreme Court Notice on Plea Over Lower Privacy Standards for Indian Users

Users have grave apprehensions that they will lose their privacy and it is our duty to protect them, the Supreme Court said.

WhatsApp, Centre Gets Supreme Court Notice on Plea Over Lower Privacy Standards for Indian Users

The apex court issued notice to the Facebook-owned app on an interim application

Highlights
  • The apex court issued notice to the government
  • Citizens have great apprehension about loss of their privacy
  • The petitioner alleged there is huge metadata which is shared for profit
Advertisement

The Supreme Court Monday asked the Centre and WhatsApp to reply to a fresh plea alleging lower standards of privacy for Indians in comparison to European users saying it is the duty of the judiciary to protect citizens' privacy.

People have grave apprehensions that they will lose their privacy and it is our duty to protect them, the top court said.

"You may be two or three trillion companies but people value their privacy more than money," a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde told WhatsApp even as it sought to argue that Europe has special data protection laws which India doesn't.

The apex court issued notice to the government and the Facebook-owned app on an interim application filed by Karmanya Singh Sareen in a pending petition of 2017.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the messaging app was applying lower standards of privacy for Indians and they be barred from sharing data with Facebook.

The bench observed, "We are impressed by Mr. Divan's argument that it was proposed before us that a data protection law would be brought into force.

"Now under this policy you will share data of Indians."

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for WhatsApp, contended that Europe has a special law (General Data Protection Regulation) and it will follow law if the Parliament makes it a similar law.

The bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said that citizens have great apprehension about loss of their privacy and they think that their data and chats being shared with others and it has to be looked into.

The Centre told the apex court that the social media apps cannot share data of users and data must be protected.

The petitioner challenged privacy policy alleging that there is huge metadata of users which is being shared for profit.

The top court had in 2017 referred social media platform WhatsApp's privacy policy matter to a Constitution bench saying it concerns the larger issue of privacy and right to personal liberty.

The appeal filed in the apex court by Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi assailed the Delhi high court verdict on the ground that no relief was granted for data shared by users post-September 25, 2016, and it amounted to an infringement of fundamental rights under Article 19 (Freedom of Speech and Expression) and 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution.


Can Realme X7 Pro take on OnePlus Nord? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: WhatsApp, Facebook
Ptron Bassbuds Vista With Qi Wireless Charger, Ptron Bassbuds Pro TWS Earphones Launched in India
Redmi Note 10 Series Launch in India Tipped for March 10
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »