New Delhi: WhatsApp told the Delhi high court on Friday that till the Data Protection Bill comes into force, it would not compel users to opt for its new privacy policy as it has been put on hold.WhatsApp also clarified before bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh that it would not limit the functionality for users who are not opting for new privacy policy in the meantime.Appearing for the messaging platform, senior advocate Harish Salve said, “We voluntarily agreed to put it (the policy) on hold… we will not compel people to accept.”Salve said that WhatsApp would nonetheless continue to display the update to its users.The court was hearing the appeals of Facebook and its firm WhatsApp against the single-judge order refusing to stop the competition regulator Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order directing a probe into WhatsApp’s new privacy policy.The CCI on March 24 ordered a probe into the new privacy policy of WhatsApp, after making a prima facie observation that it was violative of the Competition Act 2000, LiveLaw reported. The regulator observed that the privacy policy terms on sharing of personalised data with Facebook companies was “neither fully transparent nor based on specific, voluntary consent of users”.On June 3, the Union government had filed an affidavit in the Delhi high court saying that WhatsApp is indulging in ‘anti-users practices’ by obtaining ‘trick consent’ for its updated privacy policy, to which WhatsApp responded by saying that it accords highest priority to the privacy of its users.Also read: Privacy Delayed Is Privacy DeniedAccording to an ANI report, the government in its affidavit also purported that WhatsApp wanted its users in India to accept its updated policy before the Personal Data Protection Bill became a law.WhatsApp, which has close to 450 million users in India, has drawn massive criticism from users globally, including India, over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company, Facebook.The Union government is coming up with its own data protection laws, which, according to reports, is based on the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations.According to experts, the inordinate delay by the government in introducing the Personal Data Protection Bill violates people’s right to privacy. But, as per a Business Insider analysis of some of the clauses of the Bill, there is still considerable scope for a user’s data to get collected without their consent.Earlier on May 25, WhatsApp filed a legal complaint against the Union government over its controversial IT Rules, saying that the ‘traceability clause’ in the new rules is a violation of privacy rights in India’s constitution. It requires social media platforms to locate “the first originator of the information” if required by authorities.(With inputs from PTI)