E-Paper
WhatsApp abused position by imposing privacy policy: CCI
The CCI accused WhatsApp of abusing its dominance by forcing users to accept data sharing in its 2021 privacy policy, prompting an appeal from Meta.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday that online messaging platform, WhatsApp, abused its dominant position in India by removing users’ ability to opt out of cross-platform data sharing in its 2021 privacy policy, effectively forcing compliance.
Senior advocate Balbir Singh, who appeared for CCI, told the NCLAT that Meta’s integration of WhatsApp with Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger gives it unmatched reach and network effects, keeping users locked in.
“Even when alternatives like Telegram or Signal exist, switching is difficult because entire networks must move together,” Singh said.
The senior advocate told a bench of NCLAT chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and technical member Arun Baroka that WhatsApp’s “take it or leave it” approach created undue urgency, leaving users no real choice but to accept the terms.
Singh made the submissions while opposing the petitions filed by Meta and WhatsApp, where the companies have challenged a ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed by CCI over the messaging platform’s privacy policy changes.
Singh argued that WhatsApp’s 2021 policy authorised “overly broad and vague data collection,” allowing the company to gather information from individuals, businesses, and third parties and integrate it across Meta’s ecosystem, which was a clear example of exploitative abuse.
WhatsApp and Meta however, have maintained that CCI had no evidence to support its finding that the platform abused its dominant position in India’s messaging market.
Last week, the petitioner companies had argued that the regulator did not conduct any user surveys, record user testimony, or collect Daily Active User data from rivals like Signal and Telegram, and therefore could not rely on assumptions about user expectations.
Senior counsels Mukula Rohatgi, Kapil Sibal, and Arun Kathpalia who appeared for the petitioners, had argued at the time that WhatsApp’s 2016 privacy policy, which allowed users to opt out of data sharing, had already been upheld by the NCLAT, and users who exercised that option continue to retain it. They had argued that the CCI had erred in faulting the 2021 update for not offering a similar opt out from data sharing for users.
The dispute arises from WhatsApp’s January 2021 notification about revised terms of service and privacy policies. The updated policy, effective February 8 that year, required users to accept expanded data collection and mandatory data sharing with Meta companies to continue using the platform.
The CCI took suo motu cognisance of the policy changes and in November 2024 fined Meta ₹213.14 crore, ruling that the update constituted abuse of dominance under the Competition Act. It also barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with other Meta entities for advertising purposes for five years.
Both WhatsApp and Meta subsequently appealed the CCI order to the NCLAT, which stayed the five-year ban in January 2025 and directed Meta to deposit 50% of the penalty amount.
