General
TT Correspondent | 21 Aug 2018Post a meeting with WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels, union minister for electronics and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the company has been asked to appoint a grievance officer in India who can act fast on complaints of violent or fake messages being circulated on the platform. The company which has come under fire for incidents of mob lynching being sparked through fake messages on its platform has also been asked to comply with the India law and register a corporate entity in India.
Prasad also said that for starting payments, the company has to store data in India. They have also been asked to come up with a "technological solution" to ensure traceability of messages which are being circulated in bulk in a particular area in the country. "I have said in the past that its no rocket science to identify a message which is being circulated in lakhs on the same day in the same area."
WhatsApp, which has been in talks with the government after the ministry of electronics and IT sent notices to the company has agreed to most of the demands of the government, said Prasad. The company has agreed to register a corporate entity in India and also to appoint a grievance officer and follow the Indian law, said Prasad.
Daniels, however, did not give any comment on the meeting.