The Indian government has sent a fierce letter to Facebook over its decision to update the privacy rules around its WhatsApp chat service, and asked the antisocial media giant to put a halt to the plans.In an email from the IT ministry to WhatsApp head Will Cathcart, provided to media outlets, the Indian government notes that the proposed changes “raise grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens.”In particular, the ministry is incensed that European users will be given a choice to opt out over sharing WhatsApp data with the larger Facebook empire, as well as businesses using the platform to communicate with customers, while Indian users will not.“This differential and discriminatory treatment of Indian and European users is attracting serious criticism and betrays a lack of respect for the rights and interest of Indian citizens who form a substantial portion of WhatsApp’s user base,” the letter says. It concludes by asking WhatsApp to “withdraw the proposed changes.”IndiaIndia’s top techies form digital foundation to fight Apple and GoogleREAD MOREThe reason that Europe is being treated as a special case by Facebook is, of course, the existence of the GDPR privacy rules that Facebook has repeatedly flouted and as a result faces pan-European legal action.
Robin Edgar
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