NEW DELHI (INDIA) – Days after the country’s technology ministry asked Facebook to withdraw WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, Facebook executives faced questions from an Indian parliamentary panel, on Thursday.
The committee questioned why Facebook needed to make changes to WhatsApp’s privacy terms and how it will impact users, said a source.
“Members wanted to know the implications of the policy for Indian consumers,” the source said, adding that WhatsApp has said it will submit written responses.
A WhatsApp spokeswoman said the company had provided its views and will continue to assist the committee in the future.
The messaging platform this month kicked up a storm when it informed users about the new privacy policy, under which it could share limited user data, including phone number and location, with Facebook and its group firms.
As demand for other messaging applications such as Signal and Telegram surged due to privacy concerns, WhatsApp decided to delay the new policy launch to May from February, last week.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology this week said in an email to WhatsApp’s boss that the new privacy policy terms take away choice from Indian users.
