The Centre has responded to WhatsApp’s lawsuit against the new IT rules saying that it respects the right to privacy and none of the new rules will impact the normal functioning of the app in any way. 

WhatsApp sued the Indian Government on Wednesday on the basis of privacy concerns. The new rules will require WhatsApp to make people’s messages “traceable” to outside parties. The lawsuit filed by WhatsApp wanted to block the enforceability of the new rules.

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The press release quoted Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad saying “None of the measures proposed by India will impact the normal functioning of WhatsApp in any manner whatsoever and for the common users, there will be no impact.”

Having said that, the Indian Government’s MeitY also criticised WhatsApp for its new privacy policies the messaging app is trying to enforce. It pointed out that “At one end, WhatsApp seeks to mandate a privacy policy wherein it will share data of all its users with its parent company, Facebook. On other hand, WhatsApp makes every effort to refuse enactment of Intermediary Guidelines necessary to uphold law & order & curb fake news.”

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