Teaching Note: India pushes for traceability while WhatsApp resists: privacy vs national security

The case revolves around introducing the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, by the Government of India. The traceability clause [Rule 4(2)] is a bone of contention between WhatsApp and the government. This clause requires prominent social media intermediaries, including WhatsApp, to identify the source of information as and when ordered by the court or a competent authority. WhatsApp, having enabled end-to-end encryption in its chats, views this requirement as a threat to the fundamental architecture of its platform which enables user privacy. It argues that enabling traceability would require breaking encryptions for all users,...