WhatsApp files lawsuit against Indian gov’t over new digital rules

Details:

• The new digital rules imposed by the Indian government require messaging apps like WhatsApp to keep track of every single message sent on its platform, leading to a violation of the firm’s privacy laws.
• WhatsApp also said that the company will have to break its end-to-end encryption – a measure that ensures that only the receiver can see a particular message – in order to comply with the new regulations.

Context:

• According to the new rules set by the Indian government, “significant social media intermediaries” will lose their right to gain legal immunity from the content shared on their platforms if they do not comply.
• Other contentious parts of the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code are the requirement for social media companies to set up a grievance response mechanism and for them to take down content within 36 hours of a legal order sent by the government.