Meta Appeals to NCLAT Against CCI's ₹213 Crore Fine on WhatsApp
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New Delhi, Jan 6 (NationPress) — The social media giant Meta has formally appealed to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) as of this Monday, disputing a recent decree from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) which levied a penalty of ₹213 crore against the company associated with the 2021 privacy policy amendment of WhatsApp.
In November of the previous year, the competition regulator mandated WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data obtained on its platform with any other Meta entities for advertising purposes for a five-year duration, while also imposing a fine of ₹213.14 crore on Meta for purportedly misusing its dominant market position.
Meta has conveyed to the NCLAT that the CCI's ruling could have significant implications across the entire industry, indicating the necessity for an expedited hearing on this issue.
The case is set for discussion in front of the appellate tribunal on January 16.
WhatsApp boasts over 500 million active users in the nation.
Following the CCI's directive that prohibited WhatsApp from sharing user data collected on its platform with other Meta products or companies for advertising purposes for five years, the social media entity expressed its disagreement and intentions to contest the ruling.
The CCI stated, “The 2021 policy update by WhatsApp presented on a ‘take it-or-leave-it’ basis imposes unfair conditions under the Act, compelling users to accept broadened data collection terms and data sharing within the Meta Group without an option to opt-out.”
A representative from Meta commented that the 2021 WhatsApp update did not alter the privacy of individual messages and was proposed as a choice for users at that time.
“We also assured that no user would experience account deletion or loss of WhatsApp functionalities due to this update. The revision aimed at introducing optional business features on WhatsApp and provided enhanced transparency regarding our data collection and usage practices,” stated the company spokesperson.
The CCI initiated an investigation in March 2021 into WhatsApp’s revised privacy policy, which mandated data sharing with Facebook (now Meta) and its associated companies, alongside an expanded data collection scope.
