Editor's Pick: WhatsApp stalls new policy

The Hindu Newsletter - Newsletter - subject [The Hindu Logo](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link18) [Facebook](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link1) [Twitter](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link3) [Youtube](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link35) [Linkedin](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link16) [Instagram](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link15) Sunday 17, January 2021 [alt_text](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link13) Editor's Pick WhatsApp tries to dig its way out [alt_text](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link32) (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging platform, has announced that it is [delaying the roll out of a new privacy policy](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link25)till May 15. This comes in the wake of a massive exodus from the platform after it announced that the new policy will be effective from February 8. The company is now in firefighting mode and has said that it wants to use the extra time to dispel misunderstandings around the policy change. The [mass migration](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link33) was triggered by the removal of a line from the privacy policy that said users could opt out of sharing data with Facebook. The announcement on the new policy also made it clear that users have to exit WhatsApp if they do not sign up for the altered terms. This led to fears that WhatsApp will now be compulsorily sharing a lot more of users' personal information with its parent company, which has a less-than-stellar record in protecting the privacy of its users. While such runs on Facebook have happened before among smaller groups of privacy-conscious users, this time millions migrated to privacy-focused platforms such as Signal and Telegram. The removal of the line on opting out of sharing data with Facebook is reportedly mere housekeeping, since that option has been defunct since 2016. Other than a few who chose to opt out during a small period in 2016 when the choice was available, all [WhatsApp users have had their data shared with Facebook](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link34). While personal and group chats and forwards remain encrypted and not visible to WhatsApp or Facebook, the companies still share information such as phone number, IP address, language, and time of use. The new policy has to do more with the presence of businesses on the platforms and users' ability to chat with and make purchases from them. Apparently, interactions with businesses do not enjoy the same privacy as your personal chats and can be used by Facebook and third parties to target ads on other platforms. None of this is applicable to [WhatsApp users in Europe](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link22)as the privacy rules in EU prevent WhatsApp from sharing data with Facebook. India and most other countries do not have privacy rules that would protect users' interests in how large tech companies handle their data. This fiasco also points -- once again -- to the illiteracy on the terms and conditions of the technologies that are used to run our personal and professional lives. This gap in digital rights and understanding, and the potential downfall of an app that has become part and parcel of the daily lives of millions of people, are what make this story important. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here](ArB9HlHIB9HlJNAABeY2wo/link30) Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who is the former CEO of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), who was recently arrested in the Television Ratings Point (TRP) scam by the Mumbai Crime Branch? 1. Romil Ramgarhia 2. Partho Dasgupta 3. Vikas Khanchandani 4. 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