Just days before WhatsApp starts using its new privacy policy amid an outcry over privacy concerns, the company defended its latest update, saying other mobile applications and websites collect just as much data as it does.
The Facebook-owned company said in its affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court that mobile applications like Big Basket (grocery delivery service), Koo (social media app/microblogging platform), Ola (ride-sharing service), Truecaller (internet phone directory), Zomato (food delivery service) and Aarogya Setu (contact tracing service for COVID-19)
collect the same sort of data parameters of its users that WhatsApp does. The company also stated in its affidavit that web services like Zoom and Google already have similar privacy policies in place.
The affidavit was given in response to a petition filed by lawyer Harsha Gupta who has argued that the new privacy policy infringes on the right to privacy of its users.
The instant messaging app has been taking the heat in various countries as regulatory authorities and privacy rights groups have started raising serious concerns.
WhatsApp is currently facing a probe under the orders of the Competition Commission of India for ‘abuse of dominant position.’ Facebook and WhatsApp had petitioned the Delhi HC to stop the order of the probe but the petition was set aside as the
court saw no merit in stopping the probe.
In Germany, the country’s data protection regulator deemed the same policies of WhatsApp as illegal and
banned Facebook from using the data that WhatsApp collects from its users in the country.
While WhatsApp has removed the deadline of May 15 for all users to accept the new policy change, the policy is still going to go
live as scheduled. WhatsApp has repeatedly claimed that it will not delete the accounts of users who have not accepted the policy. However, the features of the app will
gradually become "limited" for the users who fail to agree to the new changes.
