WhatsApp responds to MeitY, says functionality won't be limited for users

Assures govt user privacy remains highest priority; recent update does not change privacy of personal messages

WhatsApp said on Monday it has responded to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's letter from last week, assuring them that the messaging service will not limit functionality for its users if they do not accept the new privacy policy update.

“We have responded to the Government of India’s letter and assured them that the privacy of users remains our highest priority. As a reminder, the recent update does not change the privacy of people’s personal messages. Its purpose is to provide additional information about how people can interact with businesses if they choose to do so," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.  

Last Tuesday, in a communication sent to WhatsApp on Tuesday, the ministry asked the Facebook-owned company to roll back its privacy policy update, saying that the manner of introducing these changes, including in FAQs, undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice for Indians and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens.

MeitY had also told WhatsApp in the same letter that its privacy policy is a violation of several provisions of existing Indian laws and rules.  MeitY had given WhatsApp seven days to respond to its letter, and stated that “if no satisfactory response is received, necessary steps in consonance with law will be taken”.  

"We will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works in the coming weeks. Instead, we will continue to remind users from time to time about the update as well as when people choose to use relevant optional features, like communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook. We hope this approach reinforces the choice that all users have whether or not they want to interact with a business. We will maintain this approach until at least the forthcoming PDP law comes into effect,” the WhatsApp spokesperson added.

The ministry has taken the same stand in the Delhi High Court, where the matter is sub judice.

In an update earlier to its frequently asked questions page, the Facebook-owned messaging service said it would give everyone time to review, and continue to remind those who haven’t had the chance to do so to review and accept. After a period of several weeks, the reminder people receive will "eventually become persistent".

The reminders will not become persistent for all users at the same time. But once they do become persistent for users, WhatsApp said they would "encounter limited functionality on WhatsApp until you accept the updates." Further, people "won’t be able to access your chat list, but you can still answer incoming phone and video calls. If you have notifications enabled, you can tap on them to read or respond to a message or call back a missed phone or video call. After a few weeks of limited functionality, you won’t be able to receive incoming calls or notifications and WhatsApp will stop sending messages and calls to your phone," it said.

For now, Germany has banned the update over privacy concerns, and the company has not enforced it in the country. MeitY had also flagged this “discriminatory treatment” in its communication to WhatsApp.