WhatsApp has informed the Delhi High Court that it would cease its operations in India if compelled to compromise message encryption, a safeguard that ensures user privacy by limiting message access to only the sender and recipient. The legal representative of the Meta-owned company stated in court, “If encryption is to be broken, WhatsApp will cease to exist as a platform.”
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WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta, are contesting the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, which mandate companies to track chats and identify message origins.
The lawyer highlighted that WhatsApp, with over 400 million users in India, is widely favored for its privacy features. Any regulations that undermine content encryption and user privacy, according to WhatsApp, infringe upon the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
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Addressing the court, the company’s legal representative emphasized, “No such regulation exists elsewhere in the world, not even in Brazil. Compliance would necessitate storing an extensive message archive for an indefinite period, posing logistical challenges.”
Regarding India’s significance, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg remarked in a virtual address at Meta’s annual event last year, “India is at the forefront… You’re leading the world in terms of how people and businesses have embraced messaging.”
