The Government has withdrawn the Draft Encryption Policy, which asked users of services that use encryption, such as WhatsApp and other social media services, to store all their communication for as long as 90 days.
Talking to media persons in New Delhi Tuesday afternoon, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shakar Prasad made it clear that what was released yesterday was not the final view of the Government.
The Minister said there have been some misgivings and the Ministry has asked Department of Electronics and Information Technology to withdraw the draft policy and revise it appropriately.
The Minister also said that the NDA government supports freedom of social media. He said government respects the privacy of citizens but cyber crime is rising enormously which calls for an Encryption Policy.
We spoke to Cyber Media Expert, Pavan Duggal, explaining the implications of Draft Encryption Policy.
Earlier, Department of Electronics and Information Technology clarified that social media websites and applications have been exempted from the purview of the National Encryption Policy.
This had come following public outcry on the draft proposal.