New privacy policy will take effect from May 15: WhatsApp to Delhi HC

New Delhi, May 17: WhatsApp told the Delhi high court on Monday that implementation of its policy has not been deferred and it has come into effect from May 15. The Mobile messaging app said that it is trying to get users on board but in case they don't agree, their accounts will slowly be deleted.

A submission to this effect was made by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal. "We can make a very clear statement that our privacy policy does not violate the IT Rules, we can go rule by rule," Sibal said.

The Delhi High Court sought the response of the Centre, Facebook and WhatsApp on a plea challenging the new privacy policy of the messaging application.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notices to the central government and the two social media platforms, seeking their stand on the petition filed by a lawyer who has claimed that WhatsApp's new policy, which came into effect from May 15, violates users' right to privacy under the Constitution.

It said for the time being, it will not delete the accounts of the users who have not accepted the policy and would try to encourage them to get on board with it.

The court listed the matter for hearing on June 3.