A lawyer representing WhatsApp told the Delhi High Court that if the messaging service is forced to break encryption, the service will not be able to function in India
WhatsApp LLC. and its parent company Facebook Inc., now Meta, have moved the Delhi High Court, challenging the Information Technology Rules enacted in 2021 that require social media intermediaries to trace chats and make provisions to identify the first originator of information.
A Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan has posted the case to August 14.
During the hearing, the lawyer appearing for WhatsApp noted that the instant messaging platform would exit India if encryption has to be broken.
“As a platform, we are saying, if we are told to break encryption, then WhatsApp goes,” ANI quoted the lawyer as saying.
WhatsApp is against an amendment in India’s IT Rules that requires social media intermediaries to identify the first originator of information, when required to do so.
This story was originally published in thehindu.com. Read the full story here.