SC asked WhatsApp to publicize its stance regarding a letter it sent to the Center regarding its policy

Case: Karmanya Singh Sareen v. Union of India

Constitution Bench: Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy, and CT Ravikumar

The Supreme Court has asked WhatsApp to publicize its stance regarding a letter it sent to the Central government. The letter stated that users who do not accept the company's 2016 privacy policy will not be restricted until the Data Protection Bill, 2022 is discussed in Parliament. The Constitution Bench has agreed to delay the hearing on the challenge to WhatsApp's privacy policy, as the Data Protection Bill is expected to be presented in Parliament during the upcoming Budget Session.

The Supreme Court has asked WhatsApp to publicize its position regarding the May 2021 letter it sent to the Central government, in which it stated that no users would be removed from the platform for not accepting the privacy policy. This is to protect the interests of WhatsApp users until the Data Protection Bill is deliberated in Parliament. The order was issued despite being contested by the petitioners, who argued that the same grounds were pointed out when the case was originally heard in 2017.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan briefly discussed the merits of the case and pointed out that WhatsApp's stance towards customers in the European Union was in stark contrast to its stance towards customers in India, without justification. The Court agreed to defer the hearing as the Data Protection Bill was about to be introduced and arguments in the case would take a significant amount of time.

The petitioners in the case are alleging that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp is a violation of the fundamental right of privacy of the crores of Indian citizens who use the app on a daily basis. They argue that the way the policy was framed and its terms result in a serious infringement of privacy rights.