India’s IT Rules undermine user security, says WhatsApp CEO

India’s revised Information Technology Guidelines that requires technology platforms to trace the origin of flagged messages “undermines security that end-to-end encryption provides”, WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart told technology publication The Verge on Monday, adding that the move could see more countries worldwide following suit.

“With the IT rules in India, the specific thing those rules would require is us to build some system [to comply] if someone comes to us and says “Hey, someone said the words ‘XYZ.’ Tell us who (is) the first person who said the words XYZ.” That’s not private. And it undermines the security that end-to-end encryption provides,” Cathcart told the Verge.