{"id":194087,"date":"2026-02-04T13:33:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=194087"},"modified":"2026-02-04T13:33:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:33:01","slug":"indian-top-court-slams-whatsapp-raises-alarm-over-data-sharing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2026\/02\/04\/indian-top-court-slams-whatsapp-raises-alarm-over-data-sharing.html","title":{"rendered":"Indian top court slams WhatsApp, raises alarm over data sharing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-194092\" src=\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2026\/02\/18.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"349\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2026\/02\/18.jpg 349w, https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2026\/02\/18-327x220.jpg 327w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 349px) 100vw, 349px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>New Delhi:The Supreme Court of India has strongly censured Meta Platforms Inc and its messaging service WhatsApp over their data-sharing practices, expressing serious concern over the misuse of citizens\u2019 personal data amid growing state and corporate surveillance in India.<\/p>\n<p>According to Kashmir Media Service, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant observed that technology companies cannot be allowed to compromise the fundamental right of the citizens to privacy under the pretext of data sharing. \u201cYou cannot play with the right to privacy of the citizens of this country in the name of data sharing. We will not allow you to share a single word of the data,\u201d the bench remarked.<\/p>\n<p>The apex court also directed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology be impleaded as a party in the case, acknowledging the government\u2019s central role in framing and enforcing India\u2019s data-governance regime. The court is expected to pass an interim order on February 9.<\/p>\n<p>The observations came during the hearing of appeals filed by Meta and WhatsApp challenging a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ruling that upheld restrictions on WhatsApp\u2019s controversial privacy policy, which enables extensive data sharing with Meta entities.<\/p>\n<p>Legal experts say the case has broader implications, as it highlights mounting concerns over the Modi government\u2019s increasing pressure on technology platforms to provide user data and weaken encryption safeguards. Rights groups warn that such policies have facilitated mass surveillance, particularly in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where digital data has reportedly been used to profile journalists, activists, and political dissenters.<\/p>\n<p>India\u2019s existing legal framework under Modi government grants sweeping exemptions to state agencies, raising questions about the actual protection of citizens\u2019 digital rights under the current dispensation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Delhi:The Supreme Court of India has strongly censured Meta Platforms Inc and its messaging service WhatsApp over their data-sharing practices, expressing serious concern over the misuse of citizens\u2019 personal data amid growing state and corporate surveillance in India. According to Kashmir Media Service, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant observed that technology &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":194092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2026\/02\/18.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194093,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194087\/revisions\/194093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}