Meta Platforms Inc., owner of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, has intensified its fight against a ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The company told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the watchdog’s order is legally unsound and stretches beyond the scope of competition law.
The dispute arises from WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update, which required data sharing with Meta entities for uses beyond core messaging, including targeted advertising. In November 2024, the CCI ruled this amounted to abuse of dominance under Section 4 of the Competition Act, citing WhatsApp’s 500 million-plus Indian user base and lack of alternatives. Alongside the fine, it barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for advertising for five years—a ban partly stayed by the NCLAT in January 2025 on condition that Meta deposit half the penalty.
Arguing for Meta, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Arun Kathpalia said the CCI strayed into privacy and data protection issues, matters outside its mandate. Sibal stressed that the regulator had not conducted a market-effect analysis, while Kathpalia insisted data sharing was central to WhatsApp’s free-to-use model, calling user data “Meta’s private property” that enables innovation and helps small businesses. He also clarified that WhatsApp never forced users to delete accounts for rejecting the policy, pointing to a May 2021 clarification.
Meta further cited jurisdictional overlap, noting the Supreme Court is already reviewing WhatsApp’s privacy policy in the Karmanya Singh Sareen case. It argued that the forthcoming Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, due in 2025, would supersede the CCI’s order.
Defending the regulator, Advocate Samar Bansal said the CCI’s focus is on business conduct and abuse of dominance, not individual privacy. He highlighted that, unlike in Europe, Indian users were given no option to opt out of data sharing, making WhatsApp’s “take-it-or-leave-it” stance unfair. The CCI also ordered Meta to provide clearer disclosures and barred conditioning WhatsApp access on data sharing.
The NCLAT bench, led by Justice Ashok Bhushan, is hearing Meta’s appeal, with a decision on interim relief awaited.
