Discussion - WhatsApp Tracking Request from Indian Govt

[Ninkj]

Recently, the Indian govt has asked the WhatsApp to find a way to track WhatsApp messages. While the govt has claimed that they want to find the source of Fake WhatsApp forwards in the country that has lead to lynching and riots across the country, does it also create a backdoor for the govt to snoop on dissenting voices and opposition? I think, there needs to be a debate on this.

source >> https://telecompress.com/whatsapp-indian-govt-messages-fake-news/

 

[mikedt]

WhatsApp does have the premise of end-to-end encryption and no backdoors. Maybe the Indian govt will just block it completely? Like has already happened in China.

 

[KBU2]

Your Android device is a front and backdoor to multiple government entities, just read your list of certified trusted certificates if you think I'm kidding

 

[mikedt]

Your Android device is a front and backdoor to multiple government entities, just read your list of certified trusted credentials if you think I'm kidding

Yeh the Root Authority Certificates, which just about every smartphone and computer does have. However they can also stop governments snooping on what one is looking at....

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45098190

"The BBC's web services are all currently blocked in China, following a decision by the corporation to change the website's format.

It has altered all of its addresses from beginning "HTTP" to "HTTPS", which is widely considered to be a more secure connection but is routinely blocked in China."

Of course I'm using a secure VPN, so I can still look at BBC etc. and Chinese govt can't see what I'm reading.

 

[svim]

WhatsApp isn't monetizing data collection the same why other corporations do, like Google (our 'Supreme Leader') or Facebook (WhatsApp owner). It will keep surface level information like names, phone numbers, IP addresses, etc. but for actual messaging content, that's a lot more tenuous. WhatsApp doesn't permanently store and archive message content (unlike Apple's iMessage), they're typically retained on a temporary basis while in transit, until delivery to the recipient. A year or so when Brazil was filing law suits trying to obtain user data from WhatApp, it essentially flopped. The government was making a demand for data WhatsApp simply didn't have.
The WhatsApp app does include functionality to automatically back up your own WhatsApp content locally (that is on your own device, or online storage of your own choosing) but when governments demand texting content from the texting services themselves, that's more of another example where technology is advancing at a faster rate then most government officials are aware of (or sadly, just beyond the comprehension level of some).