India proposes alpha - Numeric hash to track WhatsApp chat
India proposes alpha - Numeric hash to track WhatsApp chat
India, Mar 23 , 2021 :
WhatsApp has argued that billions of messages are sent from its platform every minute making it impossible to store or keep track of them.
The government has proposed that WhatsApp assign an alpha-numeric hash to every message sent through its platform as a solution to break the deadlock over traceability on the messaging app, senior government officials told ET.
The hash can travel with the message and in case of any unlawful activity, the originator of the message can be traced without breaking the app’s encryption, the sources said.
“ The government is willing to work with WhatsApp to come up with a solution to enable traceability of message originators without breaking encryption,” according to officials in the know.
In February, the Centre notified the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 that mandates traceability of first originator of a message flagged by either a court of law or an authorised government agency.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which counts India as its largest market with over 400 million users, has so far, resisted the demand to trace the origin of flagged messages citing inviolability of its privacy norms while also communicating its inability to provide traceability due to the lack of appropriate technology.
