Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
06-11-2025
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: An Indian appeals tribunal on Tuesday set aside an antitrust watchdog’s five-year ban on Meta-owned, opens new tab WhatsApp sharing user data with other Meta entities for advertising, but upheld a fine, marking a partial win for the US tech major.
WhatsApp had challenged the Competition Commission of India’s November 2024 ban on data sharing between WhatsApp and other Meta entities, warning it may have to roll back some features.
Meta also criticized the CCI for not having the “technical expertise” to understand the ramifications of its order.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) lifted the data-sharing ban, noting that “the rationale for the…ban was missing altogether”.
However, it upheld the $25.4 million fine that the CCI had imposed, saying Meta abused its dominance by imposing unfair conditions.
The case began in 2021 amid criticism of WhatsApp’s privacy policy changes, with the CCI’s probe finding that the policy pushed users to accept the change or risk losing access to the service.
“While we evaluate the written order, we continue to reiterate that WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update did not change the privacy of people’s personal messages which remain end-to-end encrypted,” a spokesperson for Meta told media in an emailed response.
India is Meta’s biggest market with the highest number of users on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp worldwide.
Last year in November, India’s competition watchdog directed WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data for advertising purposes with other applications owned by Meta, opens new tab for a period of five years and fined the US tech giant $25.4 million on Monday over antitrust violations related to the messaging application’s 2021 privacy policy.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp’s privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash.
“Sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies… for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp service shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp Service in India,” the CCI said.
Meta did not immediately respond to media’s request for comment.
Tech giants, including Apple, opens new tab, Google, opens new tab and Meta face new regulatory challenges with India’s proposed EU-like antitrust law.
The Indian government is currently examining a February report from a panel established by the corporate affairs ministry. The report proposed a new “Digital Competition Bill” to complement existing antitrust laws.
The US-India Business Council, a key US lobby group has already opposed the move, fearing its business impact.
Meta Platforms, opens new tab said on Tuesday it disagreed with an order by India’s competition watchdog that placed data-sharing restrictions between WhatsApp and its other applications and said it would legally challenge the order.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) directed WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data for advertising purposes with other Meta-owned applications for five years and fined the US tech giant $25.4 million on Monday over antitrust violations related to the messaging application’s 2021 privacy policy.
