In accordance with Supreme Court’s directions in the last hearing, WhatsApp and Facebook have submitted a list of matters similar to the WhatsApp traceability case that are pending before the Supreme Court and the different High Courts. These cases either deal with privacy and surveillance reforms, or Aadhaar-social media linkage. It appears that only Facebook, as the petitioner in the transfer petition, was supposed to submit the list. None of the other parties (except WhatsApp) have submitted such a list. Here’s a list of matters that they have submitted: G. Vombatkere vs Union of India: This challenges the Aadhaar Ordinance. However, since the Ordinance has expired, Vombatkere and Bezwada Wilson have filed another petition (W.P. No. 1077/2019) against the Aadhaar Act. It’s not clear if Facebook and WhatsApp will revise the list to reflect this change. [W.P. No. 679/2019] Mahua Moitra vs Union of India: This petition, by Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, is against the Request for Proposal for setting up of a social media monitoring hub that would monitor social media communications in and originating from India. It raises questions about surveillance, right to privacy, and freedom of speech. [W.P. No. 916/2018] 6 petitions related to Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000: L. Sharma vs Union of India (W.P. (crl) No. 1/2019) Amit Sahni vs Union of India (W.P. No. 2/2019) Mahua Moitra vs Union of India (W.P. No. 13/2019) Shreya Singhal vs Union of India (W.P. No. 34/2019) Internet Freedom Foundation vs Union of India…
