Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology India has recently sent a notice to Facebook-owned company WhatsApp, which asks the service to switch its controversial privacy policy.
Along with the notice, the Indian government gave seven days to WhatsApp to come up with a “satisfactory” response, or it would take quick legal measures against the company.
In response to this, WhatsApp declared that it would not place limits on the functionality of user accounts in India as it “does not change the privacy of people’s personal messages.”
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The company further added that until India’s upcoming Personal Data Protection Bill comes into effect, it will keep pushing reminders to its users who are yet to accept the policy.
“We have responded to the Government of India’s letter and assured them that the privacy of users remains our highest priority. As a reminder, the recent update does not change the privacy of people’s personal messages. Its purpose is to provide additional information about how people can interact with businesses if they choose to do so…We will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works in the coming weeks. Instead, we will continue to remind users about the update as well as when people choose to use relevant optional features, such as communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook…We hope this approach reinforces the choice that all users have whether or not they want to interact with a business. We will maintain this approach until at least the forthcoming PDP law comes into effect” said WhatsApp spokesperson.
Besides, previously, the company said that it would not delay the deadline of 15 May, by when users were asked to accept its new privacy policy, or gradually lose functionality such as the ability to see their chat list or make or receive audio and video calls.
