ROMA – It’s the first time that WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging application, sues a government. She had come close to Brazil, where she had had a tough confrontation with President Bolsonaro. Now, the giant has taken legal steps against the Narendra Modi government. The reason is related to the new package of IT laws approved by the government last February and in force since May 26, 2021. The laws give the Indian executive greater power of control regarding the online activities of its citizens and regulate the relationship between government and social platforms. Under the new provisions, companies operating online must remove government-designated content within 36 hours of notification and appoint an (Indian) manager to check content compliance and respond to complaints.
WhatsApp “end-to-end” encryption. One of the most controversial measures concerns precisely WhatsApp, which in India alone has over 400 million users. The new law requires the service provider to trace the first sender of a message. To do this, the encrypted technology should be dismantled “end-to-end“which allows only the people involved in the communication to read the messages.” To track even one message, the service must be able to track them all. And we can’t know what the government might want to investigate in the future. It’s a form of mass surveillance, “says a lawyer representing WhatsApp. The company said it has no intention of violating its users’ privacy by archiving their messages.
“An act of defiance”. In a curt reply, the Indian government defines the lawsuit brought by WhatsApp a “clear act of defiance” and accuses the company of a “last minute” attempt to render ineffective a law already passed. The Minister of Technology recalled how in the past the messages circulated on WhatsApp have given way to riots and lynchings and thus justifies the intrusion into the private lives of citizens. As reported by the Guardian, WhatsApp also had similar problems in Brazil, without however reaching a complaint. Recently, the government had ordered a Instagram e Facebook to remove government opposition posts regarding measures taken during the pandemic, on the grounds that they could cause “panic”.
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