SC seeks govt and TRAI’s response on plea seeking privacy in social media sites

The Supreme Court sought government and TRAI’s response on a plea seeking framing of privacy policy to regulate commercial exploitation of private communication through social networking sites like WhatsApp and Facebook on Monday.

The Bench of Justice issued notice to WhatsApp and Facebook and sought their responses within two weeks.

The Bench sought assistance of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi in hearing the plea. The plea alleged that social networking sites compromise the privacy of interpersonal communication of over 150 million people in the country.

Privacy of citizens has been infringed by the social networking sites, which amounted to infringment of Articles 19 (Freedom of Speech and Expression) and 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution, said senior advocate Harish Salve. Right to Life includes the Right to Privacy, he added.

With PTI Inputs