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Exclusive: Government makes notices to WhatsApp, responses public

In response to an RTI application by MediaNama, the government has made public its correspondence with WhatsApp over concerns about fake news and lynchings. The IT Ministry has previously published press notes on these letters, but didn't publish the letters directly. In its response to the government's second letter, which hasn't been previously reported, WhatsApp said that they have already created a legal entity in India. MediaNama was able to confirm this entity's registration — WhatsApp Application Services Private Limited. Its existence was first reported by FactorDaily in January in an article about Facebook employees testing WhatsApp UPI Payments. WhatsApp confirmed to MediaNama that this entity, registered in Hyderabad's HITEC City, was what it was referring to in its letter. The IT Ministry obscured the names of the individuals from both WhatsApp and MeitY who signed off on the letters. Read the IT Ministry and WhatsApp's correspondence WhatsApp refuses traceability demand WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted so it's impossible even for the company to trace messages that end up spreading fake news that sometimes leads to lynchings and murders. In its second letter, MeitY made what it wanted from WhatsApp explicitly clear: "When rumours and fake news get propagated by gullible users or mischief mongers, the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility and accountability. Therefore, there is a need for bringing in traceability and accountability so that when a Provocative/inflammatory message is detected and a request is made by law enforcement agencies, it should be possible to ascertain identity of…

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I cover the digital content ecosystem and telecom for MediaNama.

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