The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had carried out a similar exercise in 2017 in a matter related to circulation of messages through WhatsApp. Under the Sebi Act, the regulator has the power to carry out search and seizure of books, registers, documents including electronics and digital devices from any person associated with the securities market. But because group chats and the channel features are not end-to-end encrypted, Galperin said user privacy is potentially under threat. For example, WhatsApp restricted the number of times a user could forward something, and developed automated systems that detect and flag objectionable content. Some people used the platform to organize ahead of the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, and last month Senator Mark Warner sent a letter to Durov urging him to curb Russian information operations on Telegram.
from fr