Indian Government had expressed their inability to monitor objectionable content sent using social messaging application Whatsapp. Due to the End-to-End Encryption, it is not possible for the third person to view messages sent through Whatsapp.
In Rajya Sabha,, Electronics and Information Technology Minister replied to a question asked by Congress member Raj Babbar. He answered that they are no route ways to check objectionable content on Whatsapp. Once content is reported government can take any action as it has laws in place.
Then the member again asked whether the government had the plan to stop sharing of objectionable videos through Whatsapp. Prasad answered laws dealing with transmitting offensive contents. He said the offensive videos which are uploaded using mobile phones and shared through Whatsapp had been seen, but he added end-to-end encryption for message can’t be seen to third party
“Instances of objectionable videos being uploaded through mobile phones and shared through WhatsApp have been noticed. According to WhatsApp, the messages are end-to-end encrypted, and they and any third party cannot read them. In other words, the messages are only seen by the sender and the receiver,” he said in the reply.
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“WhatsApp provides a feature to report any objectionable content. However, they also admit that since they do not have the substance of the messages available to them, it limits their ability to take action. A user can take a screenshot of the content and share it with appropriate law enforcement authorities,” he added.
Minister said on IT act, 2000, makes minor changes in 2008, gives a punishment for publishing or transmitting objectionable content such as obscene material and sexually explicit. He said, “Concerned law enforcement agencies take necessary action for violation noticed or reported as per the law,”
