WhatsApp Threatens to Shutdown in India Over Encryption Dispute

WhatsApp has informed the Delhi High Court that it will cease operations in India if the government forces the company to break its end-to-end encryption of messages. The messaging giant, along with its parent company Meta, has challenged the amended IT rules, particularly Rule 4(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The contentious rule requires social media intermediaries providing messaging services to enable the identification of the first originator of information on their platform when required by a judicial order or a competent authority. WhatsApp's advocate, Tejas Karia, argued before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora that users rely on the service due to the privacy provided by end-to-end encryption.

"As a platform, we are saying, if we are told to break encryption, then WhatsApp goes," Karia told the court, as reported by Bar and Bench. He added that the new requirements were introduced without consultation and go against users' privacy, potentially requiring WhatsApp to store millions of messages for years – a requirement that does not exist elsewhere in the world.

The Centre, however, countered that WhatsApp and Facebook monetise user information for commercial purposes and are not legally entitled to claim they protect privacy. The government also pointed out that Meta has been held accountable by regulators in many countries.

The court has adjourned the case until August 14 but has asked for a balance to be struck between the concerns raised by both parties. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology opposed WhatsApp's petition, claiming that the company had violated the fundamental rights of Indian citizens by denying them dispute resolution rights. The ministry argued that without the implementation of the IT Rules of 2021, law enforcement agencies would face difficulties in tracing the origin of fake messages, which could be detrimental to the peace and harmony of the country.

WhatsApp maintains that complying with the new rules would fundamentally break its encryption and that it does not have access to the keys required to decrypt messages, as they are only available to users.

"Requiring messaging apps to 'trace' chats is the equivalent of asking us to keep a fingerprint of every single message sent on WhatsApp, which would break end-to-end encryption and fundamentally undermines people's right to privacy," WhatsApp had stated earlier.

The outcome of this case could have implications for other messaging services that rely on end-to-end encryption, such as Apple's iMessage, which is available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch devices. As the legal battle continues, the future of secure messaging in India remains uncertain.