Is WhatsApp planning to shut down in India?

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that WhatsApp and Meta have yet to notify the government about their plans to shut down services in India.

There has been news floating everywhere for quite some time about WhatsApp shutting down its services in India. While there haven’t been any confirmations or notifications from WhatsApp or Meta on this matter, recently, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was asked about the same.

What did IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw say on WhatsApp shutting down in India?

While replying to a question raised in Rajya Sabha, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “(The) Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has shared that WhatsApp or Meta has not informed the government about any such plans” of shutting down services in India, even after concerns over compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000. Earlier, WhatsApp had indicated that if forced to break encryption, it would cease operations in India, arguing that it violates user privacy.

Congress member Vivek Tankha’s questions on WhatsApp.

As per a PTI report, Congress member Vivek Tankha asked whether WhatsApp was planning to shut its services in India due to the government’s directives to share user details as per its directions under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Responding to the same, the I&B Minister said that the central government had issued directions in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of India, security of the state, defense of India, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offense related to the above in respect of the information on a computer resource.

What did WhatsApp tell the Delhi High Court?

Earlier, WhatsApp challenged the newly amended IT rule that claimed it violated the right to privacy, considering it unconstitutional. WhatsApp told the Delhi High Court that its end-to-end encryption protects user privacy to ensure only the sender and recipient can access message content. “… If we are told to break encryption, then WhatsApp goes,” said Tejas Karia to a Division Bench, appearing for WhatsApp.