Meta Approaches NCLAT Against CCI Order On Privacy Policy Update

Meta Approaches NCLAT Against CCI Order On Privacy Policy Update

The competition watchdog had ordered WhatsApp not to share user data with other companies for advertising for five years

Social media platform Meta (formerly Facebook) has knocked at the doors of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), challenging a recent order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that imposed a Rs.213 crore penalty on the firm on the 2021 privacy policy update.

In November last, the competition watchdog ordered WhatsApp not to share user data with other Meta products or companies for advertising, for five years and penalized it for allegedly abusing its dominant position.

The CCI order read, "The 2021 policy update by WhatsApp on a 'take-it-or-leave-it' basis constitutes an imposition of unfair conditions under the Act, as it compels all users to accept expanded data collection terms and sharing data within the Meta Group without any opt-out."

Meta pleaded before the NCLAT that the CCI order had wide ramifications for the industry, hence, it required an urgent hearing.

WhatsApp has over 500 million monthly active users in the country.

A Meta spokesperson said that the WhatsApp update did not change the privacy of people's messages and was offered as a choice for users at the time.

The spokesperson stated, "We ensured that no one would have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of the WhatsApp service because of this update. The update was about introducing optional business features on WhatsApp and provided further transparency about how we collect and use data.”

The competition regulator probed WhatsApp's revised privacy policy in March 2021. The policy enabled mandatory data sharing with Facebook and its companies with an expanded scope of data collection.

The matter will be heard on 16 January.