26 May 2021 WHATAPP’S NEW PRIVACY POLICY AND DATA PROTECTION

WHATAPP’S NEW PRIVACY POLICY AND DATA PROTECTION

Context

Recently, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), Government of India has sent a notice to WhatsApp asking it to withdraw a controversial update to its privacy policy which might be a threat to Data Protection of Indians.

Key Features of the Whatsapp Privacy Policy:

• Information Sharing with Third Party Services: WhatsApp can share user information with their parent company Facebook.
• Hardware Information: WhatsApp collects information from devices such as battery level, signal strength, app version, browser information, mobile network, connection information (including phone number, mobile operator or ISP) among others.
• Deleting the Account: If someone only deletes the WhatsApp app from their device without using the in-app delete my account feature, then that user’s information will remain stored with the platform.
• Data Storage: WhatsApp mentions that it uses Facebook’s global infrastructure and data centers including those in the United States to store user data. It also states that the data in some cases will be transferred to the United States or other parts where Facebook’s affiliate companies are based.
• Location: Even if a user does not use their location-relation features, Whatsapp collects IP addresses and other information like phone number area codes to estimate your general location (city, country).
• Payment Services: WhatsApp says that if anyone uses their payments services they will process additional information about you, including payment account and transaction information.

Issue with/Criticism of policy:

• The Ministry has reiterated that the changes to WhatsApp’s privacy policy and the manner of introducing them undermine the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice for Indian users.
• According to WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy, users would no longer be able to stop the app from sharing data (such as location and number) with its parent Facebook unless they delete their accounts altogether.
• According to the Government, the messaging app discriminates against Indian users vis-à-vis users in Europe on the matter of a choice to opt-out of the new privacy policy. WhatsApp users in Europe can opt-out of the new privacy policy owing to the laws in the European Union (EU) called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

What are the concerns?

• The new Whatsapp policy contradicts the recommendations of the Srikrishna Committee report, which forms the basis of the Data Protection Bill 2019.
• The principle of Data Localisation, which aims to put curbs on the transfer of personal data outside the country, may come in conflict with WhatsApp’s new privacy policy.
• With the updated privacy policy, WhatsApp can now share one’s metadata, essentially everything beyond the conversation’s actual text.
• If users disagree with the messaging platform’s updated privacy policy, they will have to quit WhatsApp when the new terms of service are set to come into effect.

Way Forward

• In this digital age, data is a valuable resource that should not be left unregulated. Thus it is the time for India to have a robust data protection regime.
• A privacy commission would have to be established to enforce user rights with an emphasis on user privacy rights
• The government would also have to respect the privacy of the citizens while strengthening the right to information and act as role model for big corporation in privacy issue of citizen.

rahul123

Yojna IAS Current Affairs Team