Is WhatsApp included in new message interception rules? Experts are concerned about wide definitions

The Department of Telecommunications on August 28 published draft rules to govern the interception of messages under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. They replace the legal regime under the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951, that was notified in 2007.

As it turns out, the Telecommunications (Procedures and Safeguards for Lawful Interception of Messages) Rules, 2024, are almost exactly the same as the 1951 rules, ensuring that the procedure for intercepting phone messages under the new rules will be more or less the same.

The new rules became necessary because of the enactment in December of the Telecommunications Act, which repealed and replaced the Telegraph Act, 1885. Rules 419 and 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951 – the subordinate legislation of the act – contained the procedure for intercepting messages under the Telegraph Act.

Scroll explains how the procedure the state must follow to intercept messages under the draft rules is almost the same and why legal experts believe the continuation of the previous regime is a “missed opportunity”. But experts added that the rules may allow over-the-top communication services such as Whatsapp to also be intercepted.

What the draft rules say

Section 20 of the Telecommunications Act allows the government to intercept phone messages to or from any person or related to any subject “[o]n...

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