Saturday, September 1, 2018

SC issues notice to WhatsApp

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the
response of WhatsApp and the govern-
ment on a plea alleging that the social media
giant has not complied with the provision of
appointing a grievance officer and other laws
of India.
This comes at a time when the Facebook-
owned messaging service and the govern-
ment are at loggerheads over compliance
with Indian laws and the mechanism to
ensure traceability of fake messages.
A bench of Justices R.F. Nariman and Indu
Malhotra sought a response from WhatsApp,
the law and justice ministry, finance ministry
and information technology (IT) ministry
within four weeks. The apex court was hear-
ing a plea filed by the Centre for Accountabil-
ity and Systemic Change seeking to restrain
the social media giant from proceeding with
its payment systems unless it fully complies
with provisions of the Reserve Bank of India.
Companies such as Facebook and Google
have appointed grievance officers for users in
India, while WhatsApp had not, the petition
contended. WhatsApp must be directed to
comply with Indian laws and appoint an offi-
cer who shall address grievances of the con-
sumers and coordinate with investigating
agencies, to make it accountable, the petition
added. The petition contended that What-
sApp is a foreign company and to run pay-
ments service here it is obligated to have its
office and payments in India.

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