BIG DEVELOPMENT! WhatsApp privacy policy on HOLD - Latest news from Facebook-owned messaging platform

WhatsApp privacy policy latest news update: In a major development, the Facebook-owned most popular messaging platform WhatsApp has accepted that "the government is the administrator" in its case and informed the Delhi High Court that it will put its privacy policy update "on hold" until the Data Protection Bill comes into force.

This is a significant development after the new Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made it crystal clear within minutes of taking charge that the "law of the land is supreme" and no one can afford to disrespect it. WhatsApp's counsel also accepted that its commitment is "we need to fit in the law", the news agency IANS reported.

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As per the IANS report, Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing WhatsApp, submitted before a bench comprising Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh, "We will not enforce it until the Data Protection Bill will come out. In our case the government is the administrator of the rules...we said okay, we will wait till the Bill."

Salve also informed that the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has communicated to WhatsApp that it feels that its privacy policy is against the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information), Rules 2011, the report said.

He added that his client replied to the ministry's notice that WhatsApp will not limit functionality for some time and continue to show users the updated version. "We will maintain this approach until the Data Protection Bill comes into force. We have voluntarily agreed to put the update on hold till then," submitted Salve.

He further added that if the Bill is enforced at a later stage, WhatsApp will conform to the parliamentary law. "If Parliament allows me to do it, I'll do it. Otherwise, I won't do it... The commitment is that I'll not do anything if the parliamentary law comes...we need to fit in the law," he said.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Facebook, raised questions on the jurisdiction of the Competition Commission of India to initiate inquiry while exercising suo moto powers. He added that the top court is already examining the 2016 policy, and there are three matters pending in the High Court.