Government may ask WhatsApp, Snapchat to store your private information
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A committee has been set up by the government for drafting rules for Section 67C of the Information Technology Act.
What the government is looking to do now is draft rules for Section 67C of the Information Technology Act. The rules, whose drafting has been holding up since 2008, will explain what sort of information has to be stored, in what format, and for what time period, as per three individuals from the recently framed council.
Sharing of data between outside firms and the Indian government has been a combative issue, and specialists said the order might be difficult to execute for firms, for example, WhatsApp that promise end-to-end encryption. Or for Snapchat - a chat app where messages disappear within seconds and are not even stored on the company's servers.
Firms may also oppose the diktat, especially since most of them are not governed by Indian laws and also due to the high cost of data retention.
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"This is a fairly complex issue, compounded by the general lack of understanding of mobile apps and over the top service providers," a person on the committee who did not wish to be identified told ET.
He also said that most technology firms are US based and they have always been at loggerheads about sharing of information with the government.
"Even if it is for national security reasons, how much are these companies answerable to the Indian security establishment? And we do know how
However,
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"It will have to be a huge balancing act and will be interesting to see what this committee decides," Section 67C refers to the obligation of the service providers to hold data, the nature of the data to be retained and the time period is not specified. Companies which do not comply with the law can be levied fine and its officers imprisoned.
(image: Indiatimes)
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