The Indian government has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the recent changes in the privacy policy of the messaging app, saying unilateral changes are unfair and unacceptable.
The privacy policy came into effect after the WhatsApp announced that it would start sharing private data with Facebook. Many experts have raised concerns over this decision and demanded that the policy should be reviewed to protect users.
While the Facebook-owned company has promised better security and more privacy for its users, several flaws have already been uncovered.
The Privacy Policy further establishes that WhatsApp can use such information gained from the users to help its parent company Facebook with targeting ads and making future decisions about its business direction.
The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. However, the interpretation of this right varies widely from country to country.
On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) originally written to guarantee individual rights of everyone everywhere.
The words Right to Privacy is not written in the document however, many interpret this by reading Article 12, which states – “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”
Thus under Article 21, the right to privacy is regarded as a fundamental right of every citizen. Recently, the Delhi High Court has also observed that right to privacy is a Fundamental Right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
The Supreme Court has asserted that in order to treat a right as a fundamental right, it is not necessary that it should be expressly stated in the constitution as a Fundamental Right. Political, social, and economic changes in the country entail the recognition of new rights. The law in its eternal youth grows to meet the demands of society.
Article 21 of the Constitution of India states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”.
After reading the Article 21, it has been interpreted that the term ‘life’ includes all those aspects of life which go to make a man’s life meaningful, complete and worth living.
