New Delhi, January 7 (UITV) – Social media platform Meta on Monday approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to challenge the recent order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The order was related to WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update, under which Meta was fined Rs 213 crore. The CCI had directed WhatsApp not to share user data collected on its platform with other Meta products or companies for advertising purposes for five years.
The dispute started when the CCI accused Meta in November 2022 over WhatsApp’s 2021 policy update, alleging that the company was violating competition law with its way of data collection and sharing. The CCI had introduced it as a “take it or leave it” policy, demanding WhatsApp users to accept the terms of their data storage. The commission termed these conditions as unfair and imposed a fine of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta, accusing the company of abusing its dominant position.
Meta has now filed an appeal in NCLAT, saying that this order of CCI will have a wide impact on the entire industry. The company argued that the matter requires an urgent hearing, as this decision can also become an example for other companies. Meta says that this order may affect the operational capacity of companies and a quick hearing in this matter is extremely important. Now the matter will come up for hearing before the Appellate Tribunal on January 16.
The CCI order said that the 2021 privacy policy update implemented by WhatsApp was on a “take it or leave it” basis, forcing users to accept data collection terms without any choice. CCI considered it an unfair condition as it forces users to share data with Meta’s other products without a choice. The order addresses public concerns about WhatsApp’s data collection and sharing practices.
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Meta challenged the order, saying that WhatsApp’s 2021 update did not change the privacy of people’s personal messages. Meta says that this update was an option for users and no one had to delete their account or face any problem in the functionality of WhatsApp due to this. A company spokesperson said, “We ensured that this update did not affect any user’s account and WhatsApp’s services remained fully functional.” Meta also said that the main purpose of this update was to introduce optional business features on WhatsApp and it provided more transparency about data collection.
The case has become an important legal battle with the fine imposed against Meta after the CCI order, representing growing concerns about the data policy of companies and the way they use users’ data. Meta has sought judicial review, calling it a wrong decision, which makes it clear that this decision will not only affect WhatsApp but also other social media platforms.
Meta says that this matter is important not only for one company but for the entire digital sector, because there are disputes going on in various countries on the rules of data security and its use. Therefore, Meta has appealed to NCLAT for an early hearing in this matter.
