(LiveMint)
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of WhatsApp and the government on a plea alleging that the social media giant has not complied with the provision of appointing a grievance officer and other laws of India. This comes at a time when the Facebook-owned messaging service and the government are at loggerheads over compliance with Indian laws and the mechanism to ensure traceability of fake messages.
A bench of Justices R.F. Nariman and Indu Malhotra sought a response from WhatsApp, the law and justice ministry, finance ministry and information technology (IT) ministry within four weeks. The apex court was hearing a plea filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change seeking to restrain the social media giant from proceeding with its payment systems unless it fully complies with provisions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Companies such as Facebook and Google have appointed grievance officers for users in India, while WhatsApp had not, the petition contended. WhatsApp must be directed to comply with Indian laws and appoint an officer who shall address grievances of the consumers and coordinate with investigating agencies, to make it accountable, the petition added.
