In a recent court session, Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp and Facebook, informed the Delhi High Court that it would consider discontinuing its operations in India if compelled to remove the end-to-end encryption feature from its platform.

The petition filed by Facebook and WhatsApp challenging the applicability of Rule 4(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, was presided over by the bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora. This rule mandates social media intermediaries to assist in identifying the original source of information upon court or competent authority orders.

Advocate Karia, representing WhatsApp and Facebook, underscored the paramount importance of the platform in preserving privacy and ensuring secure encrypted communication. He emphasized that WhatsApp would cease operations if forced to compromise its encryption protocols.

Advocate Karia argued that compliance would require storing billions of messages for extended periods, a demand unprecedented globally. In response to queries from the bench regarding similar issues in other markets, Advocate Karia clarified that no such demands had been made elsewhere, including in Brazil.

Standing Counsel Kirtiman Singh, representing the Union, stressed the significance of tracing message origins, especially in today's society. With India being WhatsApp's largest market, boasting over 500 million users, and its widespread use by government entities for real-time dissemination of critical information, the stakes are substantial, argued Standing Counsel Singh. He emphasized that the mandated measure surpasses the bounds of the Information Technology Act, which does not necessitate compromising encryption.

In line with this, the court scheduled the matter for August 14, 2024, alongside other litigations challenging various provisions of the IT Rules 2021.

Advocates For Petitioners: Advocates Varun Pathak, Amee Rana, Yash Karunakaran, Vishesh Sharma, Jhejesh R, Tejas Karia, Binsy Susan, Shashank Mishra, Akshi Rastogi, Parv Kaushik and Ritika Bansal
Advocates for Union: Standing Counsel Kirtiman Singh with Advocates Waize Ali Noor and Vidhi Jain

Case Title: Facebook and others v Union Of India (W.P.(C) 7281/2021 & CM Appl 22944/2021)