For the alleged violations relating to abuse of dominance and entering into agreements that stifle competition, the CCI has ordered the probe on its own accord. The director-general of investigation is ordered by CCI to complete the probe in two months.
What is The Order Issued by The CCI?
The CCI observed that the new privacy policy terms of Whatsapp on sharing of personalized data with the parent Facebook are “neither fully transparent nor based on the specific, voluntary consent of users”. The order issued by the CCI said, “Whatsapp has prima facie contravened the provisions of Section 4 of the Act through its exploitative and exclusionary conduct, in the garb of policy update”. The CCI also observed that “a thorough and detailed investigation is required to ascertain the full extent, scope, and impact of data sharing through involuntary consent of users”.
Concerns Among The Users For The New Move of Whatsapp
The users have sought alternatives as the new move of Whatsapp has led to concerns among the users. A few weeks ago, this led to Signal and Telegram that had a sudden surge in popularity. Whatsapp first temporarily paused the rollout of the new usage policy and later it said that it would give the users more time to deliberate on it before they accept it. The new privacy policy of Whatsapp is mandatory for the users and they will have to accept them by May 15.
TPT Policy Advocacy & Recommendations
- People’s privacy must be respected and it must not be spoiled by the new privacy policy of Whatsapp. The CCI must also keep an eye on the matter that the investigation is carried out well.
- The personal messages must be protected by end-to-end encryption. We must never allow third-party apps permission to our phone storage. Even we should not share confidential information through any digital platform. When we are careful with our moves, we can expect our data to be safe.
