“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 said
After the CCI’s decision, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company disagree with the accusations and will appeal against the regulator’s decision
New Delhi:– India’s competition watchdog directed WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data for advertising purposes with other applications owned by Meta for a period of five years and fined the U.S. tech giant $25.4 million on Monday over antitrust violations related to the messaging application’s 2021 privacy policy.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp’s privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash.
“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 said.
After 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,”said the Meta spokesperson.
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.
Tech giants, including Apple, Google and Meta face new regulatory challenges with India’s proposed EU-like antitrust law.
The Indian government is currently examining a February report from a panel established by the corporate affairs ministry.
The report proposed a new “Digital Competition Bill” to complement existing antitrust laws.
The U.S.-India Business Council, a key U.S. lobby group has already opposed the move, fearing its business impact.
Agencies