{"id":31350,"date":"2021-05-18T07:47:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T03:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=31350"},"modified":"2021-05-18T07:47:22","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T03:47:22","slug":"whatsapps-controversial-privacy-update-may-be-banned-in-the-eu-but-the-apps-sights-are-fixed-on-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/whatsapps-controversial-privacy-update-may-be-banned-in-the-eu-but-the-apps-sights-are-fixed-on-india\/","title":{"rendered":"WhatsApp\u2019s controversial privacy update may be banned in the EU \u2013 but the app\u2019s sights are fixed on India"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Accessing India’s digital consumers is seen as the key to future growth for big tech companies like Facebook<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"\"India\u2019s soaring smartphone connectivity means it\u2019s a tempting market for big tech firms.<\/span>\u00a0wong yu liang\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The roll out of WhatsApp\u2019s new privacy policy, which critics warn will lead to more data sharing with its parent company Facebook, received a blow on May 13 after German regulators temporarily banned the update. The regulators are now said to be seeking an EU-wide ban by presenting their case to the European Data Protection Board.<\/span><\/p>\n

WhatsApp users will have noticed a recent intensification of pop-ups nudging them to agree to the app\u2019s new terms of service. The cliff-edge deadline for users to accept these new terms \u2013 with WhatsApp announcing that those who failed to do so would lose functionality on the app \u2013 had been set for Saturday, May 15. That deadline was recently moved forward by \u201cseveral weeks\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

This extension comes after WhatsApp was forced to scrap its initial February deadline in response to a global backlash against the Facebook subsidiary\u2019s take-it-or-leave-it policy change. Since then, WhatsApp has sought to reassure users that its commitment to end-to-end encryption and user privacy is as strong as ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

But while the German ban will be a blow to WhatsApp\u2019s ambitions to monetise the app, the messaging platform may ultimately have its sights fixed elsewhere. WhatsApp\u2019s largest market is India, with over 400 million users. That\u2019s more than three times as many users as the app\u2019s second-largest market, Brazil, which has 120 million users.<\/span><\/p>\n

That means the messaging app\u2019s privacy changes \u2013 built around the introduction of WhatsApp Business \u2013 are expected to be particularly lucrative in India, where WhatsApp recently took out front-page adverts in all the country\u2019s daily newspapers in an attempt to placate disgruntled users. WhatsApp\u2019s continuing resolve to pursue changes to its terms, despite widespread opposition, is best understood by looking at the opportunity for growth big tech firms see in India\u2019s blossoming, less-regulated digital economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Explaining WhatsApp\u2019s changes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Since acquiring WhatsApp for US$19 billion (\u00a313.5 billion) in 2014, Facebook has been exploring how to monetise the app. Determined not to introduce third-party banner ads, the company launched WhatsApp Business and Business API in 2018 to facilitate instant chat and payments between users and businesses, with the latter paying WhatsApp for access to the platform\u2019s users.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new terms and conditions are a crucial step in this move to make money from WhatsApp, because users who agree to them will consent to their information being shared between WhatsApp Business and other Facebook products. According to WhatsApp, only those who use WhatsApp Business will be affected by its new terms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, when WhatsApp\u2019s privacy update was first announced, the Competition Commission of India called for an investigation, condemning the update\u2019s compulsory nature. The commission also criticised WhatsApp and Facebook\u2019s abuse of their network effect within the Indian market, which in practice means users have limited choice to change platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n

A complaint was also filed with the Delhi High Court confronting the \u201cclear attack on users\u2019 personal data\u201d which \u201chas put a Damocles sword upon its users\u201d, ultimately for Facebook\u2019s gain. The next date for the court hearing is May 21 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like users in the UK and Europe, Indian citizens also protested the changes by downloading alternative messaging platforms, such as Signal and Telegram, in record-breaking numbers.<\/span><\/p>\n

But unlike Europeans, who enjoy the protection of EU privacy laws and assertive regulators prepared to ban the update altogether, Indian users are protected by fewer privacy laws. India\u2019s Personal Data Protection Bill has not yet been implemented, leaving WhatsApp with a diminishing window of opportunity to monetise the data of its Indian users.<\/span><\/p>\n

Privacy in India<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For India\u2019s citizens, protests against WhatsApp\u2019s privacy policy are informed by distrust in big tech and the Indian government. Their discontent is wrapped up in ongoing concerns about the limits of privacy on WhatsApp, and a wider understanding that the government is willing to sacrifice access and privacy for control and security.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the messaging platform\u2019s \u201c#ItsBetweenYou\u2019\u201d campaign in India, which emphasised WhatsApp\u2019s commitment to privacy, the platform feels less than private when the government targets its critics for surveillance on the app, when private health data is shared on neighbourhood WhatsApp groups during the pandemic and when police routinely seize smartphones to access their WhatsApp chat histories.<\/span><\/p>\n

This sense of encroachment on privacy has been further heightened by the Indian government\u2019s expediting of its new internet regulations, which will force platforms to hand over user information to law enforcement upon request.<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics argue that such moves are tantamount to \u201cdigital authoritarianism\u201d and that, while India\u2019s forthcoming data protection laws may offer greater digital privacy, they may also enable further government misuse of citizens\u2019 data \u2013 as we have seen in China.<\/span><\/p>\n

WhatsApp\u2019s resolve<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Against this backdrop of weak privacy protections, Facebook bought a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms for US$5.7 billion in April 2020. The telecommunications company, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, runs the JioMart and JioMoney platforms – strategically important for Facebook\u2019s expansion into India.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, in November 2020, WhatsApp Payments received government approval after two years of regulatory pushback and protectionism \u2013 opening the door for WhatsApp to compete in India\u2019s payments market.<\/span><\/p>\n

This carefully orchestrated double move not only integrates WhatsApp and WhatsApp Payments with India\u2019s increasingly dominant e-commerce platform JioMart \u2013 it also provides Facebook with a valuable ally in India\u2019s wealthiest businessman, Mukesh Ambani.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ambani previously warned Modi about the threat of \u201cdata colonialisation\u201d as foreign tech companies turn to India\u2019s huge market as their next source of growth. Now he appears to have paved the way for US-based Facebook to enjoy the spoils, via WhatsApp Business and its new terms and conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since WhatsApp is regarded as a \u201cbare necessity\u201d in everyday life, most of its users will eventually accept the new privacy policy in the absence of regulations to ban it. But as WhatsApp pivots its product from protecting democratic life through free speech to generating profit from its new business platform, the data of Indian citizens is likely the primary target.<\/span><\/p>\n

Philippa Williams<\/strong><\/span>
\nReader in Human Geography, <\/span>
\nQueen Mary University of London<\/span><\/p>\n

Lipika Kamra<\/strong><\/span>
\nAssociate Professor in Politics and Anthropology, <\/span>
\nO.P. Jindal Global University<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

* Published in print edition on 18 May 2021<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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