New Delhi: Meta has announced plans to appeal against the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) antitrust ruling, which bars WhatsApp from sharing user data with other Meta entities for advertising purposes for five years.
The CCI’s order, issued in response to WhatsApp’s controversial 2021 privacy policy update, also imposed a penalty of ₹213.14 crore on Meta, citing the company’s alleged abuse of its dominant market position.
The competition watchdog found that WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update forced users to accept expanded data-sharing terms with the Meta group without offering an opt-out option. Labeling this approach as a 'take-it-or-leave-it' condition, the CCI deemed it an unfair practice under Indian competition laws.
In response, a Meta spokesperson defended the privacy policy, explaining that it did not affect the privacy of users’ personal messages and was introduced as an optional update for users. The spokesperson emphasized that no user accounts were deleted nor was any functionality lost because of the update. They clarified that the update was intended to introduce optional business features and offer more transparency regarding data collection and usage.
The spokesperson also expressed Meta's commitment to providing experiences that users and businesses expect, while stating the company disagreed with the CCI’s decision and would be appealing the ruling.
The CCI began its investigation into WhatsApp’s privacy policy in March 2021, following the company’s mandatory data-sharing with Facebook (now Meta) and its affiliated companies, along with an expanded scope of data collection. Before this update, users had the option to decide whether to share their data with the company.
With over 500 million monthly active users in India, WhatsApp has faced growing scrutiny over its privacy practices since the policy update, which raised concerns about user data privacy and competition.
(With inputs from IANS)