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WhatsApp to Delhi High Court: Will cease operations in India if forced to break encryption
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
The platform contended that any attempt to undermine this encryption would erode the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution, which safeguard individual freedoms and liberties.
WhatsApp has told the Delhi High Court that it would cease operations in India if compelled to compromise the encryption of messages on its platform.
“As a platform, we are saying that if we are told to break encryption, then WhatsApp goes,” the company asserted before the bench. The messaging giant said it would be untenable to continue functioning if mandated to break encryption.
This revelation came during a hearing on Thursday, where the court was deliberating petitions filed by WhatsApp and its parent company Meta challenging Rule 4(2) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
Central to WhatsApp’s argument is the pivotal role of end-to-end encryption in fostering user trust and ensuring privacy. The platform contended that any attempt to undermine this encryption would erode the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution, which safeguard individual freedoms and liberties.
The legal challenge revolves around Rule 4(2) of the IT Rules, 2021, which mandates significant social media intermediaries to identify the first originator of any information upon the court or competent authority orders. WhatsApp and Meta have raised concerns about the rule’s legality and its implications for user privacy and platform operations.
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 were announced by the government on February 25, 2021 and required large social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to comply with the latest norms.
The bench ordered that the matter be listed for hearing on August 14 to await the transfer of all other petitions challenging several aspects of the 2021 IT Rules to it pursuant to a Supreme Court order.
In its petition filed in 2021, WhatsApp has said the requirement of intermediaries enabling the identification of the first originator of information in India upon government or court order puts end-to-end encryption and its benefits “at risk”.
WhatsApp LLC has urged the high court to declare Rule 4(2) of the intermediary rules as unconstitutional, ultra vires the IT Act and illegal and sought that no criminal liability be imposed on it for any alleged non-compliance with Rule 4(2) which requires enabling the identification of the first originator of information.
WhatsApp said the traceability provision is unconstitutional and against the fundamental right to privacy.
The plea has said the traceability requirement forces the company to break end-to-end encryption on its messaging service, as well as the privacy principles underlying it and infringes upon the fundamental rights to privacy and free speech of the hundreds of millions of citizens using WhatsApp to communicate privately and securely.
On March 22, the Supreme Court transferred to the Delhi High Court a batch of pleas pending before different high courts across the country challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Several petitions were pending on the issue before different high courts including Karnataka, Madras, Calcutta, Kerala and Bombay high courts.
(With inputs from PTI)
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