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Informist, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Meta Platforms Inc. and WhatsApp LLC have moved the Supreme Court to challenge the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's order upholding the Competition Commission of India's INR 2.1 billion penalty against them for abusing their dominant position in the case concerning WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy. The petitioners have also challenged the appellate tribunal's order directing WhatsApp to provide users with the option to share data with Meta Platforms Inc. or other Meta companies for advertising and other purposes.

 

The case dates back to January 2021, when WhatsApp updated its terms of service and privacy policies. Under the new privacy policy, users were required to accept the new terms, including an expanded scope of data collection and mandatory data sharing with Meta companies, to continue using WhatsApp.

 

Under the 2016 privacy policy, WhatsApp users were given the option to decide whether to share their data with Meta. However, with the 2021 policy update, WhatsApp made data sharing with Meta mandatory for all users, removing the prior opt-out option. This meant that to continue using the platform, users had to accept the new terms, which included data sharing with Meta.

 

On Nov. 4, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal set aside the Competition Commission of India's order directing WhatsApp not to 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 leveraged its dominance in over-the-top messaging applications on smartphones to protect its position in the online display advertising market, in contravention of the Competition Act, 2002.

 

However, the appellate tribunal upheld the remedial directions issued by the competition regulator to WhatsApp and the penalties imposed on companies for abusing their dominant position. In its measures, the Competition Commission directed WhatsApp to include a detailed explanation of the user data it shares with other Meta companies. Further, sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies for purposes other than providing WhatsApp services should not be made a condition for users to access the 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, should 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.

 

Thereafter, in a clarificatory order on Dec. 15, the appellate tribunal held that users must retain the right to decide what data is collected, for what purposes, and for how long. Once users are given the option to opt in or opt out, irrespective of data sharing for advertising or other purposes, the abuse identified in WhatsApp's 2021 Privacy Policy would be addressed, the appellate tribunal said.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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