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Supreme Court Questions Meta-WhatsApp on 2021 Privacy Policy
The Supreme Court is hearing appeals by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp against the NCLAT decision upholding a ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India. The case relates to alleged anti-competitive practices arising from WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy.
WhatsApp 2021 Privacy Policy Case:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Adjudicating Authority | Supreme Court hearing appeals against the NCLAT decision |
| Regulatory Authority | Competition Commission of India imposed a penalty of ₹213.14 crore |
| Policy Provision | Allows sharing of users’ data with Facebook and its group companies for commercial advertising and marketing |
| Consent Framework | Operates on a take-it-or-leave-it basis requiring users to accept data sharing or delete their accounts |
| Commercial Use of Data | Personal data used to analyse behavioural trends for leveraging advantage in online advertising |
| Market Dominance | Policy observed as imposing unfair conditions and discriminating against users who did not accept data sharing |
| Privacy Erosion |
Expanded internal sharing of personal data with Facebook and related companies for advertising and business purposes |
| Policy Clarity | Policy language noted as complex and unintelligible to common and poor citizens |
| Data Protection Law | Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 governs processing of digital personal data |
| DPDP Act Limitation | Does not contain provisions related to rent sharing or valuation of user data |
| Judicial Principle | Right to privacy recognised as a fundamental right under Article 21 in the Puttaswamy judgment (2017) |
| Expert Committee | Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee (2017) examined data protection issues and recommended a comprehensive law |