Critical Infrastructure Security , Finance & Banking , Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Analysis: WhatsApp's New Privacy Policy

Panel of Experts Discusses the Implications
From left: Dr. Karnika Seth, advocate, Supreme Court of India, Bharat Panchal, chief risk officer, India, Middle East and Africa at FIS Global and Shivangi Nadkarni, CEO & founder of Arrka Consulting.

As WhatsApp moves forward with its new privacy policy that makes it clear it will share the data with its parent company, Facebook and other firms the social media giant owns, a panel of privacy experts says it should ensure that the data is not exported or used for commercial reasons and that all data sharing complies with India's IT Act.

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In a video panel discussion with Information Security Media Group, Shivangi Nadkarni, CEO & founder of Arrka Consulting, who serves on the APAC advisory board of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, says: "I would expect WhatsApp's new privacy policy to provide the reassurance that the data will continue to be stored in an encrypted form and also give the users the choice of ascertaining how the data can be used or shared since the information is used to drive commercial benefits for the social media firms."

Sharing personal data for commercial reasons raises serious privacy concerns, says Dr. Karnika Seth, advocate, Supreme Court of India. "The policy should satisfy the test of law under the provisions of the IT Act and the fundamental right to privacy," she says.

And it's essential that Whatsapp comply with India's data localization requirements to help ensure privacy, says Bharat Panchal, chief risk officer, India, Middle East and Africa at FIS Global.

In this video panel, the three experts address:

  • What to expect from Whatsapps' the new policy;
  • How the norms of data sovereignty apply;
  • Leveraging the provisions of the IT Act to help ensure privacy.

Nadkarni is CEO at Arrka Consulting, which helps companies manage their information risks, data security, and data privacy functions. She has over 22 years of experience in information risk and privacy, e-commerce, and networks.

Seth is a cyber lawyer and advocate at the Supreme Court of India. She advises government agencies and private companies on emerging public policy challenges and compliance strategies.

Panchal, chief risk officer for India, Middle East, and Africa at FIS Global, is responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and implementing risk management controls and governance areas. He formerly was the senior vice president and head of risk management at the National Payment Corp. of India.


About the Author

Geetha Nandikotkur

Geetha Nandikotkur

Vice President - Conferences, Asia, Middle East and Africa, ISMG

Nandikotkur is an award-winning journalist with over 20 years of experience in newspapers, audiovisual media, magazines and research. She has an understanding of technology and business journalism and has moderated several roundtables and conferences, in addition to leading mentoring programs for the IT community. Prior to joining ISMG, Nandikotkur worked for 9.9 Media as a group editor for CIO & Leader, IT Next and CSO Forum.




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