FB’s alternative to WhatsApp traceability rejected by govt

New Delhi, September 15

Facebook global executive Nick Clegg has proposed a “prospective” mechanism for WhatsApp to act on cases flagged by law enforcement agencies, but the government has refused to budge on its demand for traceability of messages.

The issue of traceability has been a flashpoint between the government and WhatsApp, and the Facebook-owned messaging platform has so far resisted India’s demand for identification of message originators, arguing that doing so would undermine its policy on privacy and end-to-end encryption.

A senior government official said Facebook Vice-President, Global Affairs and Communications, Nick Clegg, during his meeting with IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad last week mooted alternatives to absolute traceability of messages, including use of “meta data” and machine intelligence for dealing with the issue, even offering to harness WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook linkages to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies.

A Facebook spokesperson said: “Facebook cares deeply about the safety of people in India and Nick’s meetings this week provided opportunities to discuss our commitment to supporting privacy and security in every app we provide and how we can continue to work productively with the Government of India towards these shared goals.”

A person aware of WhatsApps’s position on the matter emphasised that the platform cannot read messages exchanged as they are encrypted. — PTI

‘Prospective’ solution

• Sources say Facebook global executive Nick Clegg in meetings with top authorities reiterated the US tech giant’s stance that it will abide by any lawful request for information by the Indian Government, but it cannot read messages exchanged on its platforms 
• Clegg said the company could provide “signals” and meta data such as who calls were made to and duration, among others, of lawfully identified users, a source said