Government asks WhatsApp to withdraw its new privacy policy from India

The Government has, recently, asked WhatsApp to withdraw its new Privacy Policy from India. This was done through a letter sent by the Government to WhatsApp head Will Cathcart, asking him to “respect the informational privacy and data of Indian users”.

WhatsApp, on January 4, had updated its privacy policy, which allowed it to share user data with its parent company Facebook and other group firms. This data includes one’s location and phone number.

This move by WhatsApp led to a lot of backlash across the world. It also led to a surge in downloads of its rivals Telegram and Signal.

The government has sent a questionnaire to WhatsApp in order to know more about this policy. It has asked for the exact categories of data that the application collects from its Indian users and other details.

The government is also looking into the differences between WhatsApp’s policy in India and other countries, including its data security, information security, cybersecurity, privacy, and encryption policy.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology has asked Facebook officials to join them on January 21 amid privacy concerns about WhatsApp.