London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

WhatsApp sues Indian government in bid to block 'mass surveillance' rules

WhatsApp sues Indian government in bid to block 'mass surveillance' rules

WhatsApp has sued the Indian government in a bid to block new rules it says would lead to "mass surveillance" by forcing social media platforms to hand over private information about their users.

The company confirmed Wednesday that such a complaint has been filed with the Delhi High Court. CNN Business has asked for a copy of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is an attempt to stave off strict rules that are supposed to take effect Wednesday. They include demands that companies create special roles in India to keep them in compliance with local law, and to stay in contact with law enforcement 24/7. There are also requirements that services remove some types of content, including posts that feature "full or partial nudity."

But the rule that WhatsApp most takes issue with is one that would require companies to trace the "first originator" of messages if asked by authorities. The government has said that such requests would be made only in relation to serious crime, but the company is concerned that this move would effectively end any guarantee of user privacy by requiring the Facebook (FB)-owned platform to keep track of every message.

"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," a company spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Business. "We have consistently joined civil society and experts around the world in opposing requirements that would violate the privacy of our users. "

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology called WhatsApp's lawsuit an "unfortunate attempt" to prevent the new rules from coming into effect at the last minute.

"The government respects the right of privacy and has no Intention to violate it when WhatsApp is required to disclose the origin of a particular message," it said in a statement.

The ministry said it would only ask the platform to reveal private data if required for the investigation or prevention of "very serious offenses" related to the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, public order, rape, child sex abuse or sexually explicit material.

WhatsApp counts some 400 million users in India, its biggest market. It deployed end-to-end encryption in 2016 so that calls, messages, photos, videos and voice notes are only shared with the intended recipient and no one else — including WhatsApp. To comply with the traceability demand, WhatsApp would have to keep giant databases of every message, the company said.

A government "that chooses to mandate traceability is effectively mandating a new form of mass surveillance," WhatsApp has written in a blog post about why it opposes the practice. "Traceability forces private companies to turn over the names of people who shared something even if they did not create it, shared it out of concern, or sent it to check its accuracy."

WhatsApp began pushing back on India's demands to trace the source of messages years ago. In 2018, the government told WhatsApp to do more to trace the source of messages, after viral hoaxes on the platform were linked to several lynchings. The company said at the time that doing so would break its end-to-end encryption.

The IT ministry said India was asking for "significantly much less" than other countries have demanded of the tech platform, and was committed to securing the right of privacy for all citizens as well as the means to maintain national security.

"It is WhatsApp's responsibility to find a technical solution, whether through encryption or otherwise, that both happen," it added.

The messaging service and other social media firms have lately faced an increasingly difficult environment in India — including the new regulations, which were announced in February just weeks after the government attempted to pressure Twitter (TWTR) to take down accounts it deemed incendiary.

In April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government asked Facebook and Twitter (TWTR) to remove around 100 posts, including some that were critical of Modi's Covid-19 response.

And earlier this week, Delhi police visited Twitter offices in India to order the social media giant to cooperate with an investigation into a tweet sent by a member of the ruling political party. Twitter had labeled the tweet as "manipulated media."

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment on the new rules.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×