India gives checklist to WhatsApp for doing business in India
Electronics & IT, and Law and Justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has made it clear that WhatsApp must fulfil certain criteria if it is to do business in India. In a meeting today with WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels, who is on a 4-5 days India visit, Prasad outlined three points that WhatsApp would have to comply with. Notably, Daniels assured compliance. Here's more.
The three conditions WhatsApp must fulfill
Firstly, Prasad told Daniels that WhatsApp must have a grievance addressal system within India so that people can reach then immediately when required. He added that WhatsApp must have full compliance with Indian laws, and that India "will not appreciate" scenarios where problems are answered to only in America. Finally, Prasad said that WhatsApp must have a proper corporate entity in India.
Prasad says Daniels has assured compliance
"He [Daniels] assured that the company [WhatsApp] will soon follow these [conditions]. He said that we are working with law enforcement agencies to develop a system [to counter the spread of fake news]," said Prasad during a briefing with reporters.
Other details of Prasad's meeting with Daniels
Prasad said that WhatsApp was working with law enforcement agencies to develop systems to combat the proliferation of fake news. The minister also complimented Daniels and WhatsApp for the "extraordinary technological awakening" that the messaging service ushered in, in India. However, he added that "downright criminal" things like mob lynchings have to be stopped. WhatsApp's payments service was also discussed, and concerns were flagged.
WhatsApp's recent brushes with the Indian government
The meeting between Prasad and Daniels follows the visit of WhatsApp COO Matthew Idema late last month. That visit had come in the wake of the government repeatedly pulling up WhatsApp for its inability to curb the proliferation of fake news. Idema had then detailed steps that WhatsApp was taking to curb the nuisance, and had assured results.
