New Delhi: Under pressure to curb sinister and fake messages, WhatsApp said Wednesday it will appoint head of India operations by the year-end.
“Our new Head of WhatsApp India, who will be named by the end of the year, will build a local team that can serve our customers in India as well as work with partners and government leaders to help keep people safe,” WhatsApp spokesperson said in an email statement.
WhatsApp Vice President Chris Daniels on Wednesday met IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to discuss the issue of fake messages, that have in the past triggered mob killings.
“We appreciate the opportunity to meet with government leaders, including Minister Prasad who confirmed his support for encryption and the privacy of our users,” the spokesperson said.
WhatsApp is ‘deeply committed’ to serving the people of India and working closely with civil society and government leaders to help address abuse on the platform, the spokesperson added. The government has stood firm in its stance on traceability, and made it clear that it is not seeking decryption of messages on WhatsApp but rather wants the location and identification of senders of misinformation that provokes violence and heinous offences.
Also while the platform has appointed a grievance officer for India, the government has asked that the officer be stationed in India.
Mob lynchings & fake messages
Following multiple incidents of mob lynching across the country, the government had slapped WhatsApp with two notices, with the second one warning that it will treat the messaging platform as an abettor of rumour propagation and legal consequences will follow if adequate checks are not put in place.
The move comes after the government on Wednesday again asked WhatsApp to provide location and identity of persons spreading misinformation which is leading to violent incidents. WhatsApp had earlier appointed a grievance officer for India, based in the US but the ministry insisted on having an officer be located in India.
Tracking messages
In a meeting with WhatsApp vice president Chris Daniels, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government does not want WhatsApp to decrypt and read messages but rather wants information on the location of the person responsible for triggering fake news/messages.
“When we talk of traceability, we don’t talk of decrypting the messages but we insist on location and identification of the original sender of WhatsApp messages when such messages lead to provocation of violence, heinous offences and other serious crimes,” Prasad said.
The tussle between the government and WhatsApp on the issue of spreading fake news has been going on for few months since the company expressed its inability to provide traceability of messages on its platform as it will undermine the privacy of its users.