Now Reading: NCLAT lifts WhatsApp data-sharing ban, upholds Rs 213 crore fine
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NCLAT lifts WhatsApp data-sharing ban, upholds Rs 213 crore fine
An Indian appeals tribunal on Tuesday set aside the Competition Commission of India's five-year ban on Meta-owned WhatsApp sharing user data with other Meta entities for advertising, but upheld the Rs 213…
An Indian appeals tribunal on Tuesday set aside the Competition Commission of India's five-year ban on Meta-owned WhatsApp sharing user data with other Meta entities for advertising, but upheld the Rs 213 crore fine imposed by the regulator.
WhatsApp had challenged the CCI's November 2024 order, warning it may have to roll back features. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal lifted the ban, saying the rationale for it was missing altogether. It upheld the fine, ruling that Meta abused its dominance by imposing unfair conditions.
The case originated in 2021 after criticism of WhatsApp's privacy policy changes. A Meta spokesperson said the 2021 policy update did not change the privacy of personal messages, which remain end-to-end encrypted. The written order is awaited.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The NCLAT's split decision leaves Meta's core business model intact in its biggest market, where it operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The CCI's original probe found that WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy amounted to a take-it-or-leave-it choice for users, a practice the tribunal agreed was unfair but did not justify a five-year ban. The fine, at roughly 5% of Meta's estimated India revenue for 2024, is manageable but sets a precedent that data-sharing conditions can attract antitrust penalties. The next milestone will be the full written order, which may clarify what conditions Meta must meet to avoid future CCI action.
Source: thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
