WhatsApp’s new end-to-end encryption system may not remain legal in India if security agencies in the country have their way. Firms feel that the enhanced level of security may be misused by anti-national elements to spread discord.
End-to-end encryption basically ensures that all messages, photos, videos, documents and voice calls are impossible to be spied upon by governments, hackers or even WhatsApp itself. The new feature is applicable across all groups and one-on-one chats, making sure conversations are only delivered to the intended recipients.
This has proven to be a thorny issue for security agencies as they won’t be able to foresee or handle any major issue arising out of WhatsApp messages or videos. As per a PTI report, a security official goes as far as to describe the high level of encryption as a potential security threat.
Separatists and anti-national groups in Jammu and Kashmir currently utilize WhatsApp to spread rumors. These often result in violent outcomes. In light of this, sources claim that security firms are taking the matter up with the Telecom Ministry in order to ensure proper safeguards are in place before the new feature is permitted in India.
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This isn’t the first time a government and a software company have clashed over privacy. BlackBerry was previously made to set up a local server in India to make sure security agencies could gather information. More recently, a Facebook executive was arrested over WhatsApp’s refusal to hand over messages to the Brazilian police.