WhatsApp is located entangled in a new case. In India, the Delhi High Court has in fact issued an order to prevent the pirating of the film Radhe on the Facebook platform. The latter must therefore suspend the accounts of users sharing the pirate version of the film… and take similar measures for all accounts which will subsequently be reported by the authorities.
Initially scheduled for release in 2020, Radhe Your Most Wanted Bhai has been delayed due to the current pandemic. Like many other productions, the Covid-19 has not given a gift to the film industry.
Finally and given the health situation in India – the country is very affected by the pandemic – the producers decided to dispense with a theatrical release and to offer the film directly on a local VOD platform, a platform called by Zee Plex.
WhatsApp used to broadcast pirated copy of a movie
And of course, what had to happen happened. Several people took the opportunity to record a copy of the film and distribute it on the usual pirate networks. Either on torrent trackers or even on local download platforms.
However, the latter did not stop there and the copy of the film has also started to circulate on WhatsApp and Telegram. Which of course did not please Zee Entertainment, the company at the head of the platform where the film was originally – and legally – broadcast.
Faced with the situation, the latter therefore filed an official complaint with the authorities … but also with the High Court of Delhi.
Delhi High Court ruled in favor of plaintiff
A complaint accompanied by a request for interim relief and listing the phone numbers of the people who helped share and distribute the pirated version of the film.
More interestingly, Zee Entertainment is also accusing WhatsApp of failing to take action to limit the release of this film. The company thus claims to have contacted the solution teams and provided them with the telephone numbers of eight people who viewed, downloaded and stored the film on the platform without authorization… without any response being provided.
The lawyer appointed by the company further argued that WhatsApp scrupulously prohibited content violating copyright and that the platform should therefore have taken appropriate measures.
WhatsApp will have to collaborate with the Indian authorities
After analyzing the case, the Delhi High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff. The judge therefore ordered an injunction against the eight defendants and they no longer have the right to use WhatsApp, even to communicate with their relatives.
He also ordered WhatsApp to suspend the accounts of two other users responsible for the distribution of this pirate copy, with an obligation to act within 24 hours. Indian ISPs, for their part, will have to disclose the identity and contact details of suspected hackers to the company within 72 hours. The case will resume on June 1 and the order can be viewed here.
A case that is likely to change a lot of things
In any case, the Delhi High Court seems to be taking this matter very seriously, which is ultimately not surprising.
In January, following the announcement of the new WhatsApp T & Cs, Indian politicians said it was out of the question to let the company do it and that it was imperative to do everything possible to protect privacy. Indians.
This new case therefore risks damaging the solution, but also its owner.
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