HC-LD WHATSAPP 2 LAST

During the hearing, the petitioners told the bench that During the hearing, the petitioners told the bench thatthere was a "stark contrast" in the contentions advanced byWhatsApp as it has claimed that it does not retain messages,but on the other hand, they were saying they can keep messagesfor a longer period of time to improve performance. They also opposed WhatsApp’s claim that nothing would beshared with Facebook. In its affidavit filed in the court, WhatsApp has said,"To improve performance and deliver media messages moreefficiently, such as when many people are sharing a popularphoto or video, WhatsApp may retain that content on itsservers for a longer period of time." Regarding end-to-end encryption, it has said that neitherWhatsApp, nor any third party can read the users messages andthe only person who can read it is the recipient to whom themessage is sent. "When a user deletes his/her WhatsApp account, his/herundelivered messages are deleted from WhatsApp’s servers aswell as any of the user’s other information. WhatsApp nolonger needs to operate and provide the WhatsApp services,"the messaging platform has said in its affidavit. WhatsApp had on September 14 opposed in high court theplea which alleged that privacy of its users have beenthreatened by a new privacy policy announced by Facebook,saying regulations were in place and the latter does not haveaccess to any data as it provides end-to-end encryption. The plea has also sought a direction to prohibitWhatsApp, Facebook Inc and Facebook India Online Pvt Ltd fromsharing, in any manner, details and data of every kind ofsubscribers with any entity including Facebook or its familyof companies. PTI ABA HMP PPS RKSARC