New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday will hear a petition challenging WhatsApp's new privacy policy and seeking injunction with immediate effect. The case was earlier listed for hearing on January 15, however, Justice Prathiba M Singh recused herself from hearing a plea.
She expressed displeasure over an email sent on behalf of Facebook or WhatsApp stating that she ought not to hear the matter.
There was no need for such an email as she was not going to hear the matter, she said.
The petition, filed by a lawyer, has contended that the updated privacy policy violates users right to privacy under the Constitution.
The plea has claimed that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp allows full access into a user's online activity without there being any supervision by the government.
Under the new policy, users can either accept it or exit the app, but they cannot opt not to share their data with other Facebook-owned or third party apps.
READ: WhatsApp revised Terms and Privacy Policy
The petition states that in the absence of data protection authority, users will also have to depend on the company's mercy. The petition calls for an immediate halt to update the WhatsApp's new privacy policy.
The petition has demanded that guidelines should be issued to fix the privacy policy of WhatsApp according to the fundamental rights.
The Central Government, while exercising the rights granted under Section 79 (2) (c) and Section 87 (2) (ZG) of the Information Technology Act, should ensure that the WhatsApp does not share user data to any third party.
Earlier, on January 4, WhatsApp updated its terms of service and privacy policy regarding how it processes user data and partners with Facebook to offer integrations across the social media giant's products.
Users received in-app prompts informing them of the update in terms of use that take effect on February 8, 2021.
The message to users noted that the key updates include more information about WhatsApp's service and how it processes user data; how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats; and how WhatsApp partners with Facebook to offer integrations across the company products.
