News: WhatsApp looking to appoint legal head for India

Appointments

WhatsApp looking to appoint legal head for India

Major responsibilities of the associate general counsel, based out of New Delhi will be to manage a litigation portfolio, including intellectual property, privacy, integrity, and encryption.
WhatsApp looking to appoint legal head for India

After recently appointing Komal Lahiri as its grievance officer for India, WhatsApp is looking to appoint an India legal head who could advise it on regulatory and litigation matters.

The move seems to stem from the government's recent warning on the messaging platform's inability to curb the spread of fake news. The government had warned WhatsApp that it will treat the messaging platform as the abettor of rumor propagation and legal consequences will follow if adequate checks are not put in place. It dashed off two notices to WhatsApp, with the second one specifically saying that it would be held abettor in cases of violence triggered by messages on its platform if it did not take necessary steps.

Major responsibilities of the associate general counsel, whose position will be equivalent to the country legal head, will comprise of managing a litigation portfolio, including litigation arising out of regulatory matters, intellectual property, privacy, integrity, telecommunications, and encryption. As per WhatsApp, the role could involve, among other things, flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and organizational needs.

whatsapp legal head

WhatsApp posted on its site, “This is a full-time position based in Delhi, India and will report to WhatsApp's Director and Associate General Counsel responsible for litigation, regulatory, law enforcement, intellectual property, compliance, and integrity.”

The messaging platform added the  person must have the ability to operate independently in "a fast-paced, small but growing environment and work proactively with various teams, including communications, policy, business, product management, engineering, finance, tax, and customer support teams.” The desired candidate needs to have over 12+ years of relevant experience, including prior in-house experience with Internet or technology companies and/or a law firm.

The position is believed to be equivalent to the country legal head, though companies in India usually have principal legal counsel as the highest legal post.

Read full story

Topics: Appointments, C-Suite, #Corporate

Did you find this story helpful?

Author

QUICK POLL

How do you envision AI transforming your work?