The issue of traceability has been a flashpoint between the government and WhatsApp.
Facebook
global executive Nick Clegg has proposed a "prospective"
mechanism for WhatsApp to act on cases flagged by law enforcement
agencies, but the government has refused to budge on its demand for
traceability of messages.
The
issue of traceability has been a flashpoint between the government
and WhatsApp,
and the Facebook-owned messaging platform has so far resisted India's
demand for identification of message originators, arguing that doing
so would undermine its policy on privacy and end-to-end encryption.
A
senior government official told PTI that Facebook Vice-President,
Global Affairs and Communications, Nick Clegg, during his meeting
with IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad last week mooted alternatives to
absolute traceability of messages, including use of 'meta data' and
machine intelligence for dealing with the issue, even offering to
harness WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook linkages to provide
assistance to law enforcement agencies.
When
contacted, a Facebook spokesperson said: "Facebook cares deeply
about the safety of people in India and Nick's meetings this week
provided opportunities to discuss our commitment to supporting
privacy and security in every app we provide and how we can continue
to work productively with the Government of India towards these
shared goals."
A
person aware of WhatsApps's position on the matter emphasised that
the platform cannot read messages exchanged as they are encrypted.
It
is learnt that Clegg in meetings with top authorities, including Home
Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval as well as
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on September 12, reiterated the US
tech giant's stance that it will abide by any lawful request for
information by the Indian government, but it cannot read messages
exchanged on its platforms.
Clegg
told the officials that the company can provide 'signals' and meta
data such as who calls were made to and duration, among others, of
lawfully identified users, a source said.
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