Pegasus snooping row: Could have done more with govt, says WhatsApp
WhatsApp
has told the government it could have worked better with authorities
regarding the use of Israeli spyware, Pegasus, allegedly used to
snoop on Indian citizens. The spyware had exploited vulnerability in
the messaging application’s code.
In
a communication to the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MeitY), WhatsApp
assured the government it would engage more to address issues that
impact Indian citizens’ privacy, said sources. A WhatsApp
spokesperson said the messaging service was committed to protecting
the privacy of its over 400 million users in India.
“The
government also plays a critical role here and we are committed to
continuing to engage with it in a timely manner on sensitive issues
related to user privacy and security. We regret that we have not met
the government’s expectations on proactive engagement on these
issues and will strive to do better,” the spokesperson added.
According
to an official at the MeitY, there could be a delay in the
communication coming its way because of the ongoing winter session of
Parliament.
The
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT) is
scheduled to meet on Wednesday, and will discuss citizens’ data
security and privacy issues. It is also expected to discuss the
WhatsApp-Pegasus issue. Read
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