WhatsApp privacy policy change to be discussed in Parliamentary panel's meeting with FB, Twitter officials

Change in WhatsApp privacy policy will be among other issues which will be discussed in the meeting between officials of Facebook and Twitter and the Parliamentary standing committee on Information Technology (IT) on January 21, sources said.

"Parliamentary standing committee on IT has summoned Facebook and Twitter officials on January 21, change in WhatsApp privacy policy also to be discussed," sources said. According to Lok Sabha Secretariat notice, the agenda of the next sittings of the panel will be "Evidence of representatives of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and to hear the views of the representatives of Facebook and Twitter on the subject 'Safeguarding citizens' rights and prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms including special emphasis on women security in the digital space." The sitting will be held from 4 pm onwards on January 21.

The 31 members Parliamentary standing committee on IT is headed by Dr Shashi Tharoor, Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram constituency. WhatsApp recently announced that it has postponed its planned privacy update, which will give users more time to review the policy and accept the terms of the Facebook-owned messaging app. The decision to postpone the privacy update has been taken due to "misinformation causing concern" among people, the company said.