Meta will challenge the Rs 213.14-crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over alleged unfair business practices related to the messaging app's 2021 privacy policy update, reported news agency PTI.
The CCI had found that WhatsApp’s privacy policy update in 2021 involved practices deemed anti-competitive, such as sharing user data with other Meta-owned applications for advertising purposes. The Indian competition watchdog has now prohibited WhatsApp from sharing such data for five years and has directed Meta to take steps to address these concerns.
The CCI has instructed WhatsApp to introduce an opt-out option for users in India, including those who have already accepted the 2021 policy update. This opt-out feature, which must be prominently displayed through in-app notifications, will give users control over their data being shared with other Meta entities for non-WhatsApp-related purposes.
The competition watchdog has also barred WhatsApp from using shared user data for advertising purposes and stipulated that data sharing for other purposes must be transparently communicated
WhatsApp's policy must now include detailed explanations of what user data is shared with other Meta entities, linking each data type to its intended purpose. The CCI also mandated that sharing user data with Meta for purposes unrelated to providing WhatsApp services should not be a prerequisite for using the app in India.
However, a Meta spokesperson said that the company disagrees with the CCI’s findings and intends to appeal. The spokesperson said thet the policy did not alter the privacy of users' personal messages and was optional. They clarified that no user faced account deletion or service loss for not accepting the policy.
According to Meta, the policy introduced optional business features and aimed to increase transparency around data collection and usage.