‘Disagree’: Meta to challenge CCI's order on WhatsApp data-sharing policy

India's Competition Commission has ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with other Meta apps for five years.

Social media giant Meta on Tuesday expressed its intention to appeal a ruling by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that prohibits the American tech company from exchanging advertising data between WhatsApp and its other apps. CCI also imposed a fine of $25.4 million.

On Monday, the CCI had announced a penalty of ₹213.14 crore on Meta. (HT_PRINT)

In its ruling on Monday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) stated that there would be five-year limitations on data sharing.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined the U.S. tech giant $25.4 million on Monday for antitrust violations about WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy and ordered the messaging app to stop sharing user data for advertising purposes with other Meta-owned applications for five years, as reported by Reuters.

In March 2021, the CCI launched an investigation into WhatsApp's updated privacy policy, which allowed mandatory data exchange with Facebook (now Meta) and its businesses as well as a broader range of data collecting.

A representative for Meta stated: "We disagree with the CCI's decision and plan to appeal."

The spokesman added, "We are committed to finding a path forward that allows us to continue providing the experiences that people and businesses have come to expect from us."

Before this update, consumers may choose whether or not to give the corporation access to their data. There are around 500 million active WhatsApp users in the nation each month.

"Sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp service shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp Service in India," the CCI stated on Monday.

On Tuesday, a Meta representative stated that the 2021 update did not affect the privacy of users' private communications.

"We also ensured no one would have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of the WhatsApp service because of this update," stated a spokesman.