Meta To Appeal Against CCI Order On WhatsApp Privacy Policy

After the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of INR 213.14 Cr on Meta in connection with the WhatsApp privacy policy, the tech giant said it disagreed with the watchdog’s decision and plans to appeal.

The CCI has slapped a penalty of INR 213.14 Cr on Meta for abusing its dominant position.

The penalty pertains to WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy case. In a statement, the competition watchdog said it has also issued “cease-and-desist directions” and directed both Meta and WhatsApp to implement certain “behavioural remedies” within a “defined timeline”.

“The Competition Commission of India today imposed a penalty of INR 213.14 Cr on Meta for abusing its dominant position. This relates to how WhatsApp’s 2021 Privacy Policy was implemented and how user data was collected and shared with other Meta companies,” said CCI in a statement. 

In 2021, WhatsApp published its privacy policy that asked users to accept the amended policy in order to access WhatsApp chats and groups. The policy included sharing of users’ data such as business transactions on WhatsApp, other activities and device-level information with Facebook. 

WhatsApp 2021 policy was called out by CCI as its “take-it-or-leave-it” approach came across as imposition of unfair conditions under the Competition Act.

Further, the statement added that the policy undermined the users’ autonomy with Meta’s abuse of its dominant position in the market. 

CCI said that data sharing between Meta and WhatsApp could have resulted in entry barriers for the competitors of the social media giant. It added that the policy could have resulted in denial of market access to other players in the display advertisement and messaging app markets. 

Now, the tech giants are directed by CCI to bring changes in their operations in India. On top of that, the watchdog has barred WhatsApp from sharing its user data with other Meta companies for advertising purposes for a period of next five years.