WhatsApp, the popular messaging platform, has warned that it may have to exit India if it is forced to break its end-to-end encryption. This statement was made during a hearing in the Delhi High Court, where WhatsApp and its parent company Meta are challenging a rule of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The rule in question, Rule 4 (2), requires social media companies providing messaging services to reveal the originator of a message if ordered by a court or a competent authority. The rule is applicable for offenses related to national security, public order, or those related to rape, sexually explicit material, or child sexual abuse material, which provide for a minimum jail term of five years.
WhatsApp argues that this traceability requirement would force the company to break its end-to-end encryption, thereby violating the fundamental rights to privacy and free speech of its users. The company has sought that the rule be declared unconstitutional and that no criminal liability should accrue to it for non-compliance.
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