WhatsApp may delete accounts that don’t accept new policy

Team Udayavani, May 18, 2021, 2:22 PM IST

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Arvind Datar and Kapil Sibal, WhatsApp’s lawyers informed the Delhi High Court on Monday, May 17, that there was no deferment of the privacy policy,  stating that the tech firm was trying to get users on board with persuasion and may eventually delete the user accounts that don’t comply with the new rules.

Kapil Sibal informed that although the accounts would not be deleted right away, they will eventually be removed if the guidelines were not accepted, which contradicts the earlier reports that claimed WhatsApp had scrapped or deferred the rollout of its privacy policy in India after it sparked widespread criticism across the country.

WhatsApp has said that it will send reminders on its privacy policy update in the weeks to come and that there would be no intercession of user privacy.

Chetan Sharma, Additional Solicitor General, appearing on behalf of the Central government said the Delhi HC that WhatsApp’s new privacy policy violated the country’s Information Technology Act, 2020 and that a reply has been sought from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the same.

As per the data analytics firm Sensor Tower, WhatApp downloads during the January-April period fell by 43 percent to 172.3 million globally after it announced changes in its new privacy policy.