New Delhi, November 4 - The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday delivered a mixed verdict in Meta and WhatsApp’s challenge against the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) 2024 order penalising them for abuse of dominance over WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update.
A two-member bench led by Justice (retd) Ashok Bhushan partly set aside the CCI’s directions that had barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta companies for five years. The bench also rejected the Commission’s finding that Meta used WhatsApp’s dominance in the messaging space to boost its online advertising business, calling that portion of the order unsustainable.
However, the NCLAT upheld the ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed on Meta, agreeing with the CCI that the 2021 privacy policy had indeed forced users into accepting unfair terms without genuine consent. The tribunal observed that the 'take-it-or-leave-it' format of the update left no meaningful choice for Indian users, who rely heavily on WhatsApp for daily communication.
Appearing for Meta, Senior Advocate Amit Sibal argued that the Commission had 'overreached' its powers by treating data-sharing issues as competition violations. He said user data was not used for advertising unless users chose to interact with business accounts.
The CCI, represented by Additional Solicitor General Balbir Singh, countered that Meta’s massive network across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp gave it an 'unmatched hold' over users, and such dominance could not justify forcing consent through confusing privacy updates.
After nearly a year of hearings, the NCLAT concluded:
"Findings under Section 4(2)(e) and direction in para 247.1 are set aside; the rest of the order is upheld." With this, the ₹213 crore penalty remains, but the data-sharing ban stands quashed.
