WhatsApp Says Will Have To Stop Services In India If Forced To Undermine Encryption
The company says it will be impractical to sustain its operations if compelled to compromise encryption.
WhatsApp has told the Delhi High Court that it would have to discontinue its services in India if forced to undermine message encryption on its platform.
The court was considering petitions brought by WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta, which were challenging Rule 4(2) of the Information Technology Rules from 2021. The regulations imposed additional requirements on intermediaries, such as social media platforms like Twitter and messaging apps like WhatsApp.
The company expressed its stance before the bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora. on Thursday, saying that it would be impractical to sustain its operations if compelled to compromise encryption.
One significant requirement is for these platforms to ascertain the original sender of a message under certain circumstances, according to the rules. If a message relates to serious matters like threats to national security, public order or crimes like sexual abuse, the platforms are obligated to determine who initiated the message.
WhatsApp disagreed with this regulation and challenged it by filing a petition on May 25 that year. Incidentally, this was the same day when the Union government's deadline of three months for compliance with the new rules expired.
In March, the Supreme Court directed that all cases in which the companies challenged the 2021 rules would be heard by the Delhi High Court.
The high court deferred the hearing to Aug. 14 so that all such challenges could be heard together.