The store will close if we don't get to work our way up: WhatsApp

New Delhi, Dt

WhatsApp, a social media platform struggling with its new privacy policy, warned in the Delhi High Court on Friday that it would close its shop if it could not work with its policies in India. However, WhatsApp did not respond to concerns that its privacy policies were different in Europe and India. "You have never answered that your privacy policy is different for Europe and India," the High Court told WhatsApp during an appeal hearing on the implementation of WhatsApp's new privacy policy.

"Have you ever answered a question about your different policies for Europe and India?" The Delhi High Court said. Nowhere in this petition is there an answer to this. This is the same bottleneck. Have you ever said that there is a difference between the two? "There is only one generic answer," said Harish Salve, a senior lawyer at WhatsApp. First Parliament implements the Personal Protection Bill. We will work in India if we are allowed to work with our policy. Otherwise our shop will be closed. But why are we being pressured to do so until Parliament makes a law?

Delhi High Court Chief Justice D. N. Before a bench of Justices Patel and Jyoti Singh, WhatsApp clarified that the situation today is that whether we approve our privacy policy or not is up to our users. Users are not barred from using WhatsApp or any of its features under any circumstances. It will not ask users to adopt its new privacy policy until the Data Protection Bill is implemented. He has voluntarily stopped the implementation of this policy for the time being.

In response to Harish Salve's argument, the court noted that although WhatsApp's new privacy policy has been suspended, it is still ongoing and could be enforced at any time. "We don't want to say anything until Parliament makes the Data Protection Bill into law," Salve insisted. If Parliament allows us to implement the new policy, we will do it, otherwise we will not do it.

The Personal Data Protection Bill provides for regulation of the use of people's data by government and private companies. The Joint Parliamentary Committee is examining the provisions of the bill and is likely to present its report in the monsoon session. Facebook and WhatsApp had filed an application in the Delhi High Court seeking stay of the CCI's order of inquiry into WhatsApp's new privacy policy. Salve further requested that WhatsApp be given till the end of July to answer the questions of the Competition Commission of India.