Data Sharing
WhatsApp must give users choice on sharing data with Meta for advt - NCLAT
This story was originally published at 15:54 IST on 15 December 2025
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NEW DELHI – The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal Monday said that WhatsApp LLC. must give users a choice for sharing data with Meta Platforms Inc. or other Meta companies for all non-WhatsApp purposes – non-advertising as well as advertising. It clarified on its Nov. 4 order, wherein it was inadvertently mentioned that the user choice would be only for non-advertising purposes, on a plea by the Competition Commission of India. Meta and WhatsApp cannot assert unilateral or open-ended rights over user data, the appellate tribunal said.
The appellate tribunal said that nowhere in its entire order was it discussed providing any exception to WhatsApp on data sharing for advertising purposes. Such a construction does not align with the core principle that it has upheld for all users for the purposes of data sharing, which has been stated by it many times in its order, the appellate tribunal added.
It observed that it was not an additional burden or new remedy against the companies, which Meta and WhatsApp had argued. Users must retain the right to decide what data is collected, for which purposes and for how long, the appellate tribunal said. Once users have been given the option freely to decide to opt in or opt out, irrespective of data sharing for advertising purposes or other purposes, the abuse found in WhatsApp's 2021 Privacy Policy would be taken care of, said the appellate tribunal.
On Nov. 4, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal had set aside the Competition Commission of India's order asking WhatsApp to not share user data collected on its platform with Meta Platforms Inc. or other Meta companies for advertising purposes, for a period of five years. The appellate tribunal rejected the antitrust regulator's finding that Meta had engaged in leveraging its dominance in over-the-top messaging applications through smartphones to protect its position in the online display advertising market and this was in contravention of the Competition Act, 2002.
However, the appellate tribunal had upheld the remedial directions issued to WhatsApp by the competition regulator and the penalty against companies for abusing its dominant position in the case related to WhatsApp LLC.'s 2021 privacy policy. The competition commission, in its measures, had said that WhatsApp's policy should include a detailed explanation of the user data shared with other Meta companies. Further, sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp service in India, the regulator had said. In respect of sharing of WhatsApp user data for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services, all users in India, including users who have accepted the 2021 update, will be provided with the choice to manage such data sharing by way of an opt-out option prominently through an in-app notification and the option to review and modify their choice with respect to such sharing of data, the regulator had said.
The case dates back to January 2021 when WhatsApp updated its terms of service and privacy policies. According to the notification, WhatsApp users were required to accept new terms, including expanded scope of data collection, as well as mandatory data sharing with Meta companies, to continue using WhatsApp.
Under the previous privacy policy from 2016, WhatsApp users were given the option to decide whether they wanted to share their data with Meta. However, with the latest policy update in 2021, WhatsApp made data-sharing with Meta mandatory for all users, removing the earlier option to opt out. This meant that to continue using the platform, users had to accept the new terms, which included data sharing with Meta. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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