CAIT requests ban on WhatsApp & Facebook due to the new Privacy Policy

Confederation of All India Traders or CAIT has written to Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for IT & Communication (GOI) strongly objecting the new WhatsApp policy that invades user privacy and shares data with Facebook.

Confederation of All India Traders is the apex body of the Trading Community of India at the national level. The letter by CAIT states that the WhatsApp policy through which personal data, transactions, contacts, location, and other information that can be acquired, shared with all Facebook companies and used for other purposes "can pose serious threat to the trade and economy" and also the "security of the country".

The letter also states the policy runs against the basic fundamentals of the Constitution Of India and immediate intervention of Government is required. The letter is signed by Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders, who also highlighted the concern in a video posted through the body's handle.

For the unacquainted, as per the updated WhatsApp privacy policy, third-party services and Facebook Company Products that are integrated with WhatsApp features can receive information about users, through WhatsApp.

Third-party service providers that work with WhatsApp, including Facebook companies can also provide data and information about the users to WhatsApp in addition to other policies.

The new WhatsApp privacy policy has invited a lot of criticism from users, personalities, and organizations. It has also been one of the widely discussed and trending topics since its announcement.

Users have threatened to leave WhastApp and communicaed their concern of privacy in the language of memes. Telegram and Signal have emerged as their prioritized choice.

Also Read: WhatsApp changes privacy policy with a few key updates

The Tweet by Elon Musk has indirectly worked in the favor of Signal, and the app has largely benefitted from the new WhatsApp policy.

Signal reported a massive spike in new users after the introduction of WhatsApp policy, that also lead to a delay in the verification process of new users.