WhatsApp wins reprieve in India on user data sharing

On Thursday, an Indian court suspended the restrictions that were to be imposed Prevent WhatsApp from sharing user data With its parent company Meta, it scored a major victory for Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire in its largest market by number of users.

The ruling by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal temporarily lifts a five-year ban imposed by India’s antitrust watchdog, which had accused WhatsApp of abusing its market dominance by… Privacy Policy 2021.

India is the largest market for Meta and WhatsApp. More than 700 million users in India use WhatsApp every month, according to insights from Sensor Tower.

In November, the Competition Commission of India ruled that WhatsApp’s “take it or leave it” privacy update constituted an abuse of Meta’s dominant position by forcing users to accept expanded data collection without the option to opt out.

At the time, the watchdog found that Meta was dominant in two key markets in India: the so-called “top” smartphone messaging apps, and online display advertising.

While the ban was in place on Thursday, the court ordered Meta to deposit about $12.35 million – half of the larger penalty – within two weeks. The court is scheduled to hear the case on March 17.

The court, led by Justice Ashok Bhushan, expressed concern that the five-year ban could threaten WhatsApp’s business model, which provides the messaging service for free to users.

Meta’s lawyers argued that India’s upcoming digital privacy law, which is expected to come into effect later this year, should govern such matters rather than competition rules.

“We welcome NCLAT’s decision to grant a partial stay of the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order. While we will evaluate next steps, our focus remains on finding a path forward that supports the millions of businesses that rely on our platform for growth and innovation, as well as providing the high-quality experiences people have come to expect from WhatsApp.” statement.

The dispute began when WhatsApp asked users to accept expanded data sharing with Meta platforms or risk losing access to the messaging service. While European users can opt out of such sharing, Indian users cannot – a distinction that regulators found problematic.