Sparking a debate in India, Meta-owned popular messaging platform WhatsApp has said it will exit the domestic market if asked to break message encryption. During a recent hearing of WhatsApp and Meta’s petitions challenging a rule of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 in the Delhi High Court, the company has threatened to quit the Indian market, if asked to do so. According to the new rules, social media companies are required to trace chats and establish means to identify the first originator of information. However, Facebook and WhatsApp said the new rules violate the right to privacy and are unconstitutional.
Rule 4(2) in IT Rules, 2021 states that social media companies engaged in providing messaging services should reveal who sent a message if there is an order to do so by a court or a competent authority. The rule, however comes with a caveat that the information will only be sought for offences 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. It also stated that an order of this nature will not be passed if less intrusive means can identify the originator of the information. The traceability provision forces the company to break end-to-end encryption on its messaging service, as well as the privacy principles underlying it.
In its petition, WhatsApp has sought that the rule be declared “unconstitutional and that no criminal liability should accrue to it for non-compliance”. The traceability requirement, the petition said, would force the company to break end-to-end encryption and violate the fundamental rights to privacy and free speech of the hundreds of millions of users who use WhatsApp’s platform to communicate. The company told the Delhi High Court that people use the messaging platform because it guarantees privacy with its end-to-end encryption. The Central government counsel said the rule was needed to trace the originator of messages on such platforms in cases like those related to communal violence. The Delhi High Court will now hear the cases on August 14.
End-to-end encryption is a secure method of protecting data by encrypting it at the sender’s device and decrypting it at the receiver’s device. This method ensures that the data remains secure from the moment it is sent until it reaches its intended recipient. Unlike traditional encryption methods, end-to-end encryption does not allow any third-party to access the data, including the service provider. Governments worldwide want tech companies to implement measures that allow them to bypass end-to-end encryption (E2EE) as and when needed, on national security grounds. This has become a major point of contention between governments, tech companies, and privacy advocates. No doubt, privacy is an issue here and the ball is now in the court to define.
