WhatsApp has moved the Delhi High Court against India’s new and stricter IT Rules that require instant messaging platforms to aid in identifying the ‘originator’ of messages. The petition challenging the constitutional validity of the rules, which come into force on May 26, was filed on May 25. ‘The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021’ were notified on February 25, giving social media platforms three months to comply. The Union government and WhatsApp have been at loggerheads over tracing the origin of fake/unlawful messages for over two years now. The messaging platform has consistently refused to comply with the government’s demand, saying that the move will undermine the privacy of WhatsApp users.

Source: The Hindu May 26, 2021 03:56 UTC