We disagree with decision, plan to appeal: Meta on CCI imposing Rs 213-crore penalty

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday asked WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data with other applications, owned by Meta, for advertising purposes for a period of five years.

India’s competition watchdog imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on the social media giant for unfair business ways with respect to WhatsApp privacy policy update done in 2021.

Besides, the competition watchdog has directed Meta to cease and desist from anti-competitive practices.

Meta and WhatsApp have also been asked to implement certain behavioural remedies within a defined timeline to address the anti-competition issues, according to a CCI order.

A Meta spokesperson said that the company disagrees with the CCI’s decision and plans 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,” the Meta spokesperson said.

Meta further said the update was about introducing optional business features on WhatsApp, and 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.

“WhatsApp is able to do all of this because it offers services supported by Meta. 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,” the Meta spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, CCI has barred WhatsApp from sharing data collected on its platform with other Meta companies or Meta company products for advertising purposes for five years.

On sharing of WhatsApp user data for purposes other than advertising, the regulator said WhatsApp’s policy should include a detailed explanation of the user data shared with other Meta companies or Meta company products.

“This explanation should specify the purpose of data sharing, linking each type of data to its corresponding purpose,” it said.

The watchdog also said that sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies or Meta company products for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp Service in India.

On sharing of WhatsApp user data for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services, CCI said all users in India (including users who have accepted 2021 update) will be provided with the choice to manage such data sharing by way of an opt-out option prominently through an in-app notification.