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WhatsApp forcing users into giving consent on privacy policy? Here's all about Centre's affidavit on "trick consent"

In a new twist to the Centre vs WhatsApp controversy, the government approached the Delhi High Court, alleging that the messaging platform is “indulging in anti-user practices by obtaining 'trick consent' from users for its updated privacy policy.''

The Centre has filed a fresh affidavit in the High Court, slamming WhatsApp for obtaining 'trick consent' from users for its revised, controversial privacy policy.

Updated:Jun 04, 2021, 11:42 AM IST

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WhatsApp yet to comply with new Indian IT rules

The Centre has alleged that WhatsApp isn’t compliant with the new Indian IT rules for social media platforms. The last date to comply with the rules was May 26.

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Notification bombarding

The Centre alleged that WhatsApp is sending notifications every now and then to users who haven’t accepted its privacy policy yet. “Millions of Whatsapp users who haven’t accepted new policy are bombarded with notifications every day,” the government told Delhi High Court.

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WhatsApp going against the law?

In its affidavit, the Centre noted that WhatsApp bombarding users with notifications to accept the privacy policy is actually against the very grain of prima facie opinion of the Competition Commission of India's order dated March 24, 2021.

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Stop WhatsApp from sending notifications: Centre

The Centre has urged the High court to stop WhatsApp from sending ‘push notifications’ related to its revised privacy policy to users. It has also urged the HC to ask WhatsApp to record the number of times such notifications are being pushed daily and their conversion rate.

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The backstory

The Centre filed a fresh affidavit in response to a PIL seeking either a complete ban on WhatsApp’s new privacy policy or looking for an option for users to opt out of it. The petition was filed by Dr Seema Singh, Meghan and Vikram Singh.

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WhatsApp’s stance

Last week, WhatsApp had clarified that it’s going ahead with its controversial privacy policy update. But decided to offer users as much time as they want to accept the terms of the new policy. The policy came into effect on May 15.