After the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a Rs 213 crore penalty on Meta in relation to WhatsApp privacy policy, the company said it disagrees with the watchdog's decision and plans to appeal.
The 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.
CCI imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta 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."
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 that 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, as well as supporting small businesses in furtherance of the Indian economy.
CCI has also 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 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.
CCI also said that sharing user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies or Meta company products for purposes other than providing WhatsApp services shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp Service in India.
On sharing WhatsApp user data for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services, CCI said all users in India (including users who have accepted the 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.
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