Whatsapp puts hold on new privacy policy until the enactment of data privacy law.

The ongoing discourse on WhatsApp's new privacy policy had a positive development as WhatsApp representatives told the Delhi High Court that it would not limit the functionality of its messaging app in case a user has still not accepted to its latest privacy policy, and will maintain this approach till the forthcoming data protection bill comes into effect. This statement was given during the hearing of appeals against Competition Commission of India's probe against WhatsApp.

Having said that, they added that the application will continue to display the new updates from time to time to people who have not still not accepted their private policy. "In addition, we will display the update whenever a user chooses relevant optional features, like when a user communicates with a business receiving support from Facebook,” added Senior Advocate Harish Salve, representing WhatsApp.

He further added that owing to the ongoing enquiry of CCI, representatives of WhatsApp have voluntarily decided to delay its implementation. If in future, the parliament law rejects the constitutionality of the policy, they would either have to close shop in India or not implement it.

"The commitment is that I will not do anything till the parliamentary law comes. Obviously then if parliamentary law comes, you have to fit within that law. If Parliament allows me to have a separate policy for India, I will have it. If it does not allow me, then bad luck. I will then have to take a call,” Salve said.

WhatsApp and Facebook have too approached the High Court against the CCI order of March 24 which they say is based on an instant conclusion that the conduct of WhatsApp in “sharing of users’ personalised data with other Facebook companies, in a manner that is neither fully transparent nor based on voluntary and specific user consent”.