India: WhatsApp files lawsuit challenging tracing requirement in 2021 Information Technology Rules

On 27 July 2021, WhatsApp filed a lawsuit (W.P.(C)-7284/2021) challenging Rule 4(2) of the Indian Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The rule holds that large online messaging service providers must allow for message senders to be identifiable for the purpose of criminal investigations. The company argues that the rule is incompatible with end-to-end encryption and the standard security level used in WhatsApp's messaging service.