But the government contended that any privacy clause by WhatsApp had to conform to the existing regulations, she told the constitution bench that commenced hearing on the matter today. Delhi High Court had earlier ruled that WhatsApp should delete all data in its possession till September 25, 2016. He submitted that WhatsApp services were encrypted and there was no provision under which it could peruse any data shared, for instance, by two individuals. "Everything is encrypted," he said, claiming that any data stored or transferred to WhatsApp could not be shared with third parties without their consent. Advocate Madhavi Divan, who represented the petitioners, said the agreement to mutually share data by WhatsApp and Facebook violated a citizen's fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) to communicate freely.

Source: The Telegraph May 15, 2017 21:45 UTC