After the Competition Commission of India directed WhatsApp to not share user data collected on its platform with other Meta products or companies for advertising purposes for five years, the company expressed disagreement with the decision and has announced plans to appeal.
The competition watchdog, in its antitrust order regarding WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy update, also imposed a fine of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta for allegedly abusing its dominant position.
The CCI order held that "the 2021 policy update by WhatsApp on a 'take-it-or-leave-it' basis constitutes an imposition of unfair conditions under the Act, as it compels all users to accept expanded data collection terms and sharing of data within Meta Group without any opt-out.
The Meta spokesperson, in a statement to IANS, said, "The 2021 WhatsApp update did not change the privacy of people's personal messages and was offered as a choice to users when it was released."
We also took assurance that nothing would affect anyone's account being deleted or loss of functionality of the WhatsApp service as a result of this update. This update was about introducing optional business features on WhatsApp and provided further transparency about how we collect and use data," a spokesperson added.
The company emphasized that WhatsApp provides services supported by Meta. “We are committed to finding a path forward that allows us to continue providing the experiences that people and businesses have come to expect from us,” said the Meta spokesperson, adding, “We disagree with the CCI’s decision and plan to appeal.”
The CCI started the probe in March 2021 on WhatsApp's updated privacy policy, which was forcing the users to share data with Facebook (now Meta) and its affiliates, which also increased the collection of data.
Before the new update, users had an option to choose whether or not to share their information with the company. As of today, over 500 million monthly active users use WhatsApp in India.
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