Expressing concerns over Indian users being “subjected to these changes unilaterally,” without being given the option to opt out, Sharma said, “This leverages the social significance of WhatsApp to force users into a bargain which may infringe on the interest in relation to information privacy and information security.”
WhatsApp’s legal representative, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, claimed that this was misinformation and the app will be responding to it.
The hearing was then deferred to 1 March 2021 by Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, for the purpose of allowing the government to come to a decision in the meantime. Earlier, the court had observed that the policy is “not something which makes it mandatory for you to download.”
The petition, filed by advocate Chaitanya Rohilla, stated that the app’s privacy policy attacked individuals’ fundamental right to privacy and sought an injunction against the update. The petitioner also looked to the Ministry of Electronics and…