As WhatsApp continues to address the concerns raised regarding its updated privacy policy, the Delhi High Court, on Monday, adjourned the hearing on the petition against the controversy to April 19. This move comes after the central government sought more time saying that they would be examining the issue.
The privacy policy will come into effect from May 15, a postponement that was made after a heavy backlash regarding the policy.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva is reported to have asked the Centre to file a status report and listed the matter for April 19.
Advocate Kirtiman Singh, appearing for the Centre, told the Court that the central government is currently in the process of obtaining certain clarification and that they need time to consider it. He added that the Supreme Court has already issued a notice on a similar application relating to WhatsApp’s updated policy.
In the last hearing, the Central government told the Delhi High Court about the differential treatment given to users in India in regards to the new privacy policy for European users.
While users in EU (a region with some of the most strict privacy laws when it comes to internet based companies) were given an option to not come in accordance with WhatsApp’s new rules, users in India were stripped of this option. This infuriated the IT ministry of the country, which sent a stern worded email to the messaging platform, seeking to get the update discarded.
WhatsApp, the popular messaging platform bought by Facebook, has been in hot waters in India ever since it announced the controversial privacy policy. Recently, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to Facebook and WhatsApp regarding the matter, saying that they would intervene if necessary to protect the privacy of the citizens.
Additionally, the central government is working on a data protection bill and seeking inputs from WhatsApp in regard to it. It revealed that it is concerned about the way in which Indian users are not being given the option to choose.
The Court was hearing a petition, filed by Chaitanya Rohilla, against the privacy policy.
