The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has fined Meta Platforms ₹213.14 crore for abusing its dominant position through WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update. In January 2021, WhatsApp unveiled an updated privacy policy that expanded the scope of data collection and sharing with other Meta entities, including Facebook and Instagram.
Indian users were required to accept the update on a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ basis to continue using the service. Meanwhile, users in the European Union enjoyed the privilege of opting out, thanks to the region’s stringent data protection laws.
The CCI deemed this mandatory acceptance clause to be an imposition of unfair terms under India’s Competition Act.
It noted that the unilateral approach “constitutes an imposition of unfair conditions” and infringes upon user autonomy.
The antitrust watchdog highlighted that WhatsApp’s data-sharing practices gave Meta an undue advantage in the online display advertising market. By pooling user data from WhatsApp into its larger ecosystem, Meta created entry barriers for competitors while consolidating its market position.
The CCI concluded that Meta leveraged WhatsApp’s dominance in over-the-top (OTT) messaging services to bolster its hold on digital advertising, thereby violating fair competition principles. According to the commission, such data-sharing practices undermine rivals and deprive them of fair market access.
Beyond the financial penalty, the CCI issued stringent cease-and-desist orders restricting WhatsApp from sharing user data with other Meta companies for five years. However, this order doesn’t hold for messaging purposes.
CCI also asked WhatsApp to publish a clear and detailed explanation of the data types shared with Meta companies and explicitly link each data type to its purpose.
Meta “disagrees” with the CCI’s decision and plans to appeal it.
“The 2021 update did not change the privacy of people’s personal messages and was offered as a choice for users at that time. We also ensured no one would have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of the WhatsApp service because of this update,” the company said.
Meta also clarified that the 2021 update was essentially introduced to bring optional business features to WhatsApp.
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