SC to decide if it will hear plea against WhatsApp’s policy to share users’ data or wait for central data protection bill

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will examine whether it should consider now the plea challenging WhatsApp’s policy to share users’ data with parent company Facebook and others or it will be a mere “academic” exercise, after the Centre submitted that it was going to bring a data protection bill in the Budeget Session. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that a data protection bill is likely to be introduced in the second half of the ongoing parliament session.

The top court observed that there was no harm in waiting for the Bill to be tabled and “heavens are not going to fall in the meanwhile”.