WhatsApp balks at India’s demand to break encryption -- VB

Later in the article: "The Indian government, parties of which themselves are big WhatsApp users, has remained vague on what sort of access it is looking for."

"“There is a need for bringing in traceability and accountability when a provocative/inflammatory message is detected and a request is made by law enforcement agencies,” the government said Friday. “When rumours and fake news get propagated by mischief mongers, the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility and accountability. If they remain mute spectators they are liable to be treated as abettors and thereafter face consequent legal action,” it added.

India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than 250 million users. The country is struggling to contain the spread of fake news on digital platforms. Hoax messages and videos on the platform have incited multiple riots, costing more than two dozen lives in the country this year alone.

Allowing message tracing, though, would likely undo the privacy and security that WhatsApp’s one billion users worldwide expect from the service."

WhatsApp balks at India’s demand to break encryption -- VB