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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026

 

--SC to WhatsApp: Won't allow you to share any India information with Meta 

--SC to WhatsApp, Meta: Can't play with right of privacy of this country 

--CONTEXT: SC on Meta, WhatsApp plea against CCI fine in privacy policy case 

--CONTEXT: NCLAT rejected CCI order to WhatsApp to not share data with Meta 

--SC to WhatsApp, Meta: You have been playing with Constitution of country 

--SC to WhatsApp: How will a street vendor understand your terms, conditions 

--SC on WhatsApp sharing data: Decent way of committing private data theft 

--SC to hear cross appeals by Meta, WhatsApp, CCI against NCLAT order Feb 9 

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Tuesday said that in the name of data sharing, WhatsApp LLC. and Meta Platforms Inc. couldn't play with the right to privacy of India's users and that what they were doing was just a decent way of committing theft of private information of users. "We will not allow you to share even a single information, you cannot play with the rights of this country, let a clear message go on your WhatsApp," said a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. 

 

The top court said that WhatsApp and Meta were making a mockery of the constitutionalism of India. "How can you play with the right to privacy of people like this? People pay you for this. Consumer has no choice, you have created monopoly," said Chief Justice Kant. "A street vendor, how will she understand these terms and conditions? Can you imagine the kind of language you use! Every such condition must be examined!," he said. The top court questioned how a substantial part of the country would understand WhatsApp's terms and conditions. 

 

"You (WhatsApp) know your commercial interest and you also know how you have made consumers addicted to the application. Everybody uses it," the top court said. How could a person sitting in rural Tamil Nadu who understood only the native language understand WhatsApp's terms and conditions, questioned the top court. WhatsApp isn't here to collect data and sell, but to provide messaging and communication services, the court said.

 

Meta Platforms and WhatsApp 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 a 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 all non-WhatsApp purposes – non-advertising as well as advertising. In addition, the Competition Commission of India has filed a cross appeal against the appellate tribunal's order that rejected its direction to 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. 

 

Citing an example, the top court said that if someone asks his doctor for a medicine, once a  prescription is sent, the user gets WhatsApp messages about similar medicines in what are called targeted advertisements. If a doctor simply prescribes 'Crocin', how does one get targeted advertisements, the top court asked. Every silo of data irrespective of privacy has value and the court would like to examine what is the rent sharing of data, said the bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi. "We are not concerned about privacy, we are concerned about how our behaviour is utilised and monetised for trends and how you will target me on those advertisements," he added.

 

Earlier at the hearing, the top court asked WhatsApp and Meta to give an undertaking that they would not share users' data till the case was being heard, and only then would their appeal be decided. Any commercial venture couldn't be at the cost of the rights of the people of this country, the court said. Later, it gave time to all parties to respond so that it could pass an interim order on sharing of user data of citizens by WhatsApp. Making the Centre a party in the case, the top court listed the case for hearing on Feb. 9. 

 

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

 

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.

 

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 Avishek Dutta

 

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