WhatsApp has filed a lawsuit in a Delhi court against the
government to quash a provision of a new regulation that mandates companies to
divulge the "first originator of information", arguing in favour of
protecting privacy.
In a statement on Wednesday, WhatsApp said it would engage
with the Indian government to find "practical solutions" and protect
users, but its court filing shows it has taken a firmer stance against Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's administration.
The rule drafted by PM Modi's IT ministry will lead to a
"dangerous invasion of privacy" and was "unconstitutional",
WhatsApp argued in the 224-page court filing dated May 25, which has been seen
by Reuters but is not public.
WhatsApp said the government's new regulation exceeds the
scope of its rule-making powers under Indian law, adding that it was a
well-settled point that only parliament, not the federal government, could
undertake essential legislative functions.
"To satisfy the legality requirement, there must be a
valid law allowing for the invasion of privacy," said WhatsApp's petition,
which was signed by its counsel Brian Hennessy.
In a statement, Prime Minister Modi's government said the
rules were as per the law of the land and WhatsApp's filing was
"unfortunate".
The WhatsApp lawsuit escalates a growing struggle between PM
Modi's government and tech giants including Facebook, Google's parent Alphabet,
and Twitter in one of their key global growth markets.
"The battle lines are drawn. The intersection of big
tech, democratic values and government control will finally decide the fate of
social media in India," said Kaushik Moitra, a partner at Indian law firm
Bharucha & Partners.
'Chills even lawful speech'
In a sign of the tension with social media companies, Indian
police visited Twitter's offices this week. The micro-blogging service had
labelled posts by a spokesman for India's dominant party and others as
containing "manipulated media" after complaints that some content was
fake.
New Delhi has also pressed tech companies to remove what it
has described as misinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging India, and
some criticism of the government's response to the crisis, which is claiming
thousands of lives daily.
WhatsApp, which counts India as its biggest market with more
than 500 million users, did not comment on its court filing. The case will
likely be heard in the coming days.
An Indian government source told Reuters earlier on
Wednesday that WhatsApp could find a way to track originators of disinformation
without breaking encryption. WhatsApp court filing shows it disagrees, saying
that was not possible.
Urging the court to classify the new rule as illegal, the US
firm also made the argument that it was not aware of any other country that
compels companies such as WhatsApp to change its systems so it can identify the
originator of a message.
It said revealing an originator could put reporters
investigating unpopular issues, or activists advocating for certain policies,
at risk of a backlash.
"(The rule) violates the fundamental right to freedom
of speech and expression, as it chills even lawful speech," WhatsApp said
in its filing.
© Reuters
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