WhatsApp puts privacy policy on hold till data protection law implemented

On Friday WhatsApp told the Delhi High Court that it would not force users to accept its controversial new privacy policy, or limit functionality for those who did not accept the privacy policy.

"We voluntarily agreed to put it (the new policy) on hold... we will not compel people to accept," Harish Salve, senior advocate appearing for WhatsApp, told the court. Mr Salve further added that WhatsApp will continue to display the update to its users.

WhatsApp's new privacy policy - which was announced for February - has triggered a huge row with the government amid widespread concerns of data-sharing with parent company Facebook, and violation of users' rights.

The court was hearing a plea by WhatsApp and its owner, Facebook, challenging a CCI, or Competition Commission of India, inquiry into the policy. The CCI had issued notices to both companies last month, asking for more information about the policy.

In the previous hearing on June 23, the High Court refused to stay the CCI notice to WhatsApp.

WhatsApp argued that the notices "smacked of overreach" since the information it was seeking was already pending before a different bench of the same court. It also reminded the High Court that related challenges were still pending in both the Supreme Court and itself.

WhatsApp's new privacy policy was supposed to into effect in early February.

However, faced with massive backlash from users (that prompted the government to intervene), the rollout was delay till May 15 and then again pushed back a week before that deadline.

That time WhatsApp said that although a "majority of users who have received the new terms of service have accepted them", it would not delete the accounts of those who were still holding out.

Today it reiterated it would not limit functionality for those who had not accepted the new policy.

Last month the centre told the Delhi High Court that WhatsApp was trying to "force" users into accepting the new policy before the Personal Data Protection Bill becomes the law.

It was doing so by bombarding users with daily notifications to obtain consent, the centre said. In May WhatsApp the company told the government that privacy of its users was the highest priority.

"We have responded to the Government of India's letter and assured them that the privacy of users remains our highest priority," the company said in response to a May 18 letter from the government asking WhatsApp to take back the proposed new policy.

With more than 500 million people using its services, India is WhatsApp's biggest market and the company has big expansion plans in the country.