CCI Slams Meta with Rs 25M Fine, 5-Year Ban on WhatsApp Data Sharing
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has been slapped with a significant penalty and a five-year ban on sharing user data with its other platforms by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The decision, following an investigation into WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy changes, marks a major regulatory action against the messaging giant.
The CCI found that WhatsApp's mandatory data-sharing requirements created unfair barriers for competitors and restricted market access in digital advertising. This is due to WhatsApp's dominance in smartphone messaging and online advertising markets in India. The antitrust regulator has fined Meta Rs 213.14 crore ($25.4 million) and imposed the ban.
WhatsApp must now implement changes to its data handling practices in India. This includes maintaining transparency about data sharing, providing clear explanations of data usage purposes, implementing visible opt-out options, and applying these changes to both new and existing users. The CCI's decision follows an investigation into WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy changes, which did not offer users the choice to opt out of data sharing with Meta's other platforms.
Meta has announced its intention to appeal the CCI's decision, stating that the 2021 update did not change the privacy of personal messages and was offered as an optional choice for users. However, the CCI's ruling stands, and Meta must comply with the imposed changes and ban on data sharing for the next five years.
