Supreme Court Postpones Meta, WhatsApp Case on CCI Fine, Next Hearing on Feb 23

The Supreme Court postponed a hearing on the petitions submitted by WhatsApp and Meta, parent firm of WhatsApp on January 9th. The INR 213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) regarding the messaging platform's 2021 privacy policy has been contested by the IT titans. A hearing has been scheduled for 23 February.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal was unable to attend the hearing; thus, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant adjourned it. Sibal was representing Meta and WhatsApp in the apex court.

Why CCI Penalised the WhatsApp?

The contentious change to WhatsApp's privacy policies in 2021 is at the heart of the dispute.  This update facilitated the exchange of user data, such as phone numbers, device information, and interactions with business accounts, with Meta corporations. Privacy and competition were two of the many issues that the regulation sparked. Based on these concerns, the CCI decided to investigate whether WhatsApp had misused its dominating position in the messaging market in March 2021 after taking suo motu cognisance of the matter.

As a result of the investigation, Meta and WhatsApp were fined. Meta and WhatsApp were served a severe warning by the Supreme Court during the prior hearing on 3 February. The SC stated that they would not be allowed to exchange user data for advertising purposes under the 2021 policy. Meta was informed by the bench—which also includes Justice Vipul Pancholi and Justice Joymalya Bagchi—that the continuation of the sharing of WhatsApp user data for advertising purposes would not be accepted.

Meta is Playing with People’s Mind: SC

The court was also very critical of how Meta worded its opt-in and opt-out options. The policy language, according to SC, was not understandable by the general public. An average user will have a hard time understanding the company's policies due to their complex terminology. Meta is offering what kind of option? Picture a homeless woman sitting on the pavement selling fruit to passers-by.

In what ways will the company's policies on opting in and out be explained to her? The bench granted the plea and asked Meta and WhatsApp to submit an affidavit outlining how they share data. The ministry of electronics and information technology was also ordered to be joined as a party to the action by the court.