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Why WhatsApp users in Europe can opt-out of New WhatsApp privacy policy but users in India cannot?

WhatsApp users in Europe can opt-out of the new privacy policy owing to the laws in the EU called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which shield them from sharing data from Facebook or grant them the power to say no to WhatsApp’s new terms of service.

HIGHLIGHTS

WhatsApp’s new terms of service will go into effect from May 15, 2021.

WhatsApp has noted that the new terms of service are uniform all over the world except for the EU.

WhatsApp has started sending reminders to users to accept the privacy policy, failing which they will lose access to the account, eventually.

WhatsApp’s new terms of service will go into effect from May 15, 2021. The new privacy policy alters how the Facebook-owned app accesses user data when interacted with a business account. The new terms of service essentially will change how WhatsApp service will process your data, how businesses can use Facebook-hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats and how WhatsApp partners with Facebook to offer integration across Facebook company products.

WhatsApp faced severe criticism since the announcement of the new policy and even extended the date of the new privacy policy from February to May 2021. Now, as the days inch closer, WhatsApp has again started sending reminders to users to accept the privacy policy, failing which they will lose access to the account, eventually.

However, users all over the world do not have to accept the new terms of service. WhatsApp users in Europe can opt-out of the new privacy policy owing to the laws in the EU called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which shield them from sharing data from Facebook or grant them the power to say no to WhatsApp’s new terms of service. The GDPR's primary aim is to give individuals control over their personal data.

The GDPR also spells out certain grounds for processing personal data. These include compliance with the law, consent, vital interest, public interest, legitimate interests, contract performance, and self-motivated publication by the principal, according to oneDPO. In India, WhatsApp users do not have a choice and have to comply with the new privacy policy. However, its intentions were questioned by the Supreme Court in February 2021.

"You (Facebook and WhatsApp) may be a $2-3 trillion company but people value their privacy more than money," the Supreme court had told Facebook and WhatsApp in February this year when it was hearing an application seeking directions to be issued to WhatsApp to not lower the privacy standard for Indian users. Back in 2017, the right to privacy was declared an integral part of Part III of the Constitution of India.

WhatsApp and Facebook refuted the government’s allegations of users’ data being shared saying that such fears were baseless. The companies had also noted that the same privacy policy is applicable to all countries except European nations because it had special data protection law.

In March 2021, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in an order noted that WhatsApp had a "take it or leave it" privacy policy which calls for a detailed investigation “in view of the market position and market power enjoyed by WhatsApp.” WhatsApp in return had noted that the issues pertaining to data localisation and data sharing and should not be looked at under the competition law. WhatsApp also claimed that the 2021 update falls within the purview of the IT Act framework.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.indiatoday.in/amp/technology/news/story/why-whatsapp-users-in-europe-can-opt-out-of-new-whatsapp-privacy-policy-but-users-in-india-cannot-1793555-2021-04-21