WhatsApp appoints grievance officer for India to comply with government’s new IT rule

KEY STORY

• WhatsApp has finally appointed its grievance officer for India. The Facebook-owned messaging app has named Paresh B Lal as the grievance for India. WhatsApp has updated on its website that Lal can be contacted through a post box in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad, Telangana.

• WhatsApp along with other companies including Google, Facebook complied with the government’s new IT order that requires the tech companies to appoint a grievance officer from India.

• WhatsApp and the government of India locked horns over new IT rules imposed by the government. The tech companies were supposed to accept the new policies by May 25, but none of the companies had complied with order by then.

• WhatsApp had dragged the government to the Delhi High court over new the traceability rule which the company said were against its own privacy policy. However, WhatsApp complied with the other rule that required the company to appoint a grievance officer, nodal officer and a chief compliance officer from India.

• Whatsapp has now updated its FAQ page and shared how users can contact the grievance officer. The instant messaging app has shared that users can contact the office for the following reasons— WhatsApp Terms of Service, WhatsApp India payment, Questions about your account.

• “To contact the Grievance Officer, please send an email with your complaint or concern and sign with an electronic signature. If you’re contacting us about a specific account, please include your phone number in the full international format, including the country code,” the FAQ page read.

• Whatsapp has also shared the complete address of grievance officer Paresh B Lal. Here is where you can contact him:-

  Paresh B Lal
  WhatsApp
  Attention: Grievance Officer
  Post Box No. 56
  Road No. 1, Banjara Hills
  Hyderabad – 500 034
  Telangana, India

• The Facebook-owned messaging app had warned users against using the Grievance Officer channel for any law enforcement requests or to serve any legal process.

CONCLUSION

• As per news agency PTI, not only WhatsApp but other companies including Google have started updating their websites informing about the appointment of grievance officers. Google has displayed the name of Joe Grier as the contact person

• Under the IT law, social media companies are required to display the names and other details of their grievance officers on their websites. The officer is required to address the complaint within 24 hours and dispose of the complaint within 15 days.