Goa, April 26 -- Messaging giant WhatsApp has declared its readiness to exit India if compelled to breach encryption standards mandated by the 2021 Information Technology Rules. The company's stance emerged during a hearing at the Delhi High Court where it, alongside its parent company Meta, contested a provision in the rules empowering the Indian government to demand decryption and identification of message originators.

The contentious provision under scrutiny is Rule 4(2) of the 2021 Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, which mandates significant social media platforms to facilitate the identification of the first originator of information. WhatsApp vehemently opposes this rule, arguing ...