Kicking over the traces about the traceability clause

Last month, messaging platform, WhatsApp, filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court against the Indian government over the traceability clause in the new IT Rules 2021. The new IT rules requires social media platforms to locate ‘the first originator of the information’, when asked by authorities, which is called a traceability clause. Calling it unconstitutional, WhatsApp stated that it was against the fundamental right to privacy as underlined by the Supreme Court decision and urged that it not be imposed on technology mediators. It is claimed that the clause puts ‘criminal liability’ on its employees for non compliance. While this rule will affect all messaging apps including Snapchat, Signal, Telegram and Snapchat, only WhatsApp is fighting this inclusion. Could this be due to its popularity in India – it has over 390 million users in India, of which around 4% are business users? For instance, many hotels allow guests to manage their room and dining bookings through this platform. It has emerged as an important technology especially during the pandemic, when guests seek minimal personal communication with hotel staff – they can instead chat on WhatsApp. Rajarshi Bhattacharyya, CMD of ProcessIT Global Rajarshi Bhattacharyya, CMD of ProcessIT Global explains…
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