‘We Disagree,’ Says Meta As CCI Slaps Rs 213 Crore Penalty Over WhatsApp Privacy Policy – News18

Last Updated:November 19, 2024, 11:10 IST

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta.

In a big trouble for the social media major Meta, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on the company in relation to WhatsApp’s privacy policy. However, Meta has refuted the watchdog’s decision and has said that it plans to appeal.

The CCI has also asked WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data with other Meta-owned applications for advertising purposes for a period of five years.

It has been learnt that India’s competition watchdog has imposed a penalty on the social media giant for practicing unfair business ways in respect to WhatsApp’s privacy policy update which came in 2021.

The penalty came amid directives for the company to stop anti-competitive behaviour and implement specific remedies within a defined timeline to address the anti-competition issues.

Following the CCI’s decision, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company disagree with the accusations and will appeal against the regulator’s decision.

“As a reminder, the 2021 update did not change the privacy of people’s personal messages and was offered as a choice for users at the time. We also ensured no one would have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of the WhatsApp service because of this update,” the Meta spokesperson was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The spokesperson informed that the update was brought in view to introduce optional business features on the messaging app. The update also provided further transparency about data collection and usage.

The Meta spokesperson added since that time, WhatsApp has been incredibly valuable to people and businesses, enabling organisations and government institutions to deliver citizen services through COVID and beyond, and as well as supporting small businesses in furtherance of the India economy.

In addition, the CCI has also asked the company to not make it as a condition for the user to share their data with other Meta companies or Meta company products to access WhatsApp Service in India.