Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, on Tuesday said it would appeal against the ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over the messaging app’s 2021 privacy policy update.
“We disagree with the CCI’s decision and plan to appeal. 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,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
The firm had clarified that accounts would not be deleted for not accepting the new terms days after the changed terms were brought to users.
On Tuesday, the CCI released its full order fining WhatsApp Inc. ₹213.14 crore for a privacy policy change in 2021. The change was immediately contested in courts, before the CCI, and was panned by civil society as an abuse of the messaging platform’s massive reach in India.
The CCI found that WhatsApp had abused its market dominance, dwarfing other messaging apps like Telegram and Signal. While Meta strenuously objected to many of the fundamental arguments advanced by the CCI, the competition body overruled these on procedural and substantive grounds.
Meta argued that a previous director general — tasked with investigations before matters are ultimately decided — overreached by considering privacy aspects at play, in violation of CCI’s commitments in front of the Delhi High Court. Commissioners nevertheless went ahead with the fine, as well as the following remedial measures: for five years WhatsApp cannot share data with other Meta group companies, and it must disclose data sharing practices to users in further detail.
“Data protection laws apply universally to all entities handling personal data,” the CCI observed in response to Meta’s argument that both competition law and privacy law should not simultaneously apply to WhatsApp. “In contrast, Section 4 of the [Competition] Act specifically applies only to dominant entities, imposing additional obligations to prevent abuse of market power.”
“The update was about introducing optional business features on WhatsApp, and provided further transparency about how we collect and use data,” the Meta spokesperson added.
Published – November 19, 2024 09:28 pm IST
