After CM’s fake resignation letter, WhatsApp faces traceability test in Tripura

A screenshot of a fake resignation letter bearing the forged signature of a chief minister has triggered a legal battle in Tripura and prompted the state police to use a thus far unused provision of India’s information technology law to try and pierce social media giant WhatsApp’s encryption shield and force the behemoth to give up the originator of a viral message.

The controversial Rule 4(2) of the 2021 Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, issued under the Information Technology Act, allows for the identification of the “first originator” of a message if the request is backed by a judicial order in cases involving serious crimes like rape or threats to national security.