WhatsApp's Updated Privacy Policy is Likely to Result in Penalties from the CCI

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Oct 15, 2024 — 2 min read

WhatsApp’s Updated Privacy Policy CCI Penalties

According to recent media reports, WhatsApp is expected to receive an order from the Indian watchdog for fairness in trade practices for breaking the nation's competition laws.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has expressed its displeasure over a controversial amendment to WhatsApp's privacy policy and service terms. The media reports further stated that a penalty can also be part of the CCI order.

With its contentious 2021 update, WhatsApp would be able to share specific user data with its parent company, Meta Platforms Inc. (previously Facebook Inc.). Regulators around the world were agitated by this. According to various media reports, WhatsApp and its parent company Meta violated the anti-abuse of dominance rules of competition law, according to the director general of investigation (DG) of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Who is Competition Commission of India?

The Competition (Amendment) Act of 2007 revised the Competition Act of 2002, keeping it consistent with the principles of contemporary competition law. Anti-competitive agreements, the misuse of a dominant position by businesses, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that have the potential to significantly harm competition in India are all prohibited by the Act.

With effect from October 14, 2003, the Central Government formed the Competition Commission of India, which is responsible for implementing the Act's goals. The Central Government designates a minimum of two and a maximum of six Members to the Commission, in addition to the Chairperson.

The Commission's responsibilities include eradicating anti-competitive behaviours, fostering and maintaining competition, safeguarding consumer interests, and ensuring free trade in Indian markets. In addition, the Commission advocates for competition, raise public awareness of competition issues, and provide training on competition issues in response to a referral from a governmental entity created by any law.

Director General of Investigation's Report

Various media reports further stated that the CCI has reviewed the DG's report and is currently working on a draft order that will be issued to the two corporations shortly, imposing penalties for the alleged infractions.

Citing sources, the newspapers stated that the CCI has determined that WhatsApp's sharing of user business transaction information with Meta gives the group businesses an unfair edge over rival platforms.

"We are unable to comment on the CCI proceedings because they are under appeal." According to an official statement from WhatsApp, users who opted not to accept the Privacy Policy Update can still use the app to interact with friends and family without having their accounts cancelled or losing functionality.