India’s competition watchdog has ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with other Meta units for advertising purposes for five years and also levied a fine of $25.4 million for antitrust violations related to WhatsApp’s controversial 2021 privacy policy.
The Competition Commission of India, which began the investigation in 2021, found that WhatsApp’s “take-it-or-leave-it” privacy update constituted an abuse of Meta’s dominant position by forcing users to accept expanded data collection without an opt-out option.
WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update required users to share their data with Meta companies in order to continue using the messaging service, removing a previous opt-out option that had existed since 2016. The mandatory data-sharing requirement expanded the scope of data collection and processing by Meta’s group companies.
The watchdog determined that Meta was dominant in two key markets: so-called “over-the-top” messaging apps through smartphones in India, and online display advertising.
It concluded that WhatsApp’s mandatory data-sharing created entry barriers for Meta’s rivals and resulted in denial of market access in the display advertising market.
In addition to the monetary penalty, the CCI mandated significant changes to WhatsApp’s data practices in India.
The messaging platform must provide users with detailed explanations of what data is shared with Meta companies and for what purpose. It must also give users prominent opt-out options through in-app notifications and settings menus, applying these changes to both new and existing users who accepted the 2021 update.
The ruling represents the latest regulatory challenge for Meta in India, where WhatsApp has more than 450 million monthly active users.
