SC hears appeals for WhatsApp, Facebook users' protection

The court allowed the parties to argue the case as larger constitutional issues were involved

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Monday began hearing appeals seeking guidelines to protect the users of WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media service providers from sharing data with third parties and on the right to confidentiality. According to the Internet Freedom Foundation, which opened the arguments, currently, there is no such protection and the court should lay down guidelines till there is a law to fill the vacuum.

The central government told the bench, presided over by judge Dipak Misra, that a law to protect data in all aspects is on the anvil. However, the court allowed