India’s competition regulator has instructed WhatsApp to cease sharing user data with other Meta companies for advertising purposes over the next five years and has imposed a fine of $25.4 million due to antitrust violations related to WhatsApp’s contentious 2021 privacy policy.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) determined that WhatsApp’s “take-it-or-leave-it” privacy update was an abuse of Meta’s dominant market position, compelling users to consent to extensive data collection without any option to opt out.
The CCI identified Meta as a dominant player in two significant markets: over-the-top messaging applications via smartphones in India and the online display advertising sector.
It found that WhatsApp’s compulsory data sharing created obstacles for Meta’s competitors and led to restricted access to the display advertising market. Besides the financial penalty, the CCI has mandated substantial alterations to WhatsApp’s data management practices in India.
The messaging service is required to offer users clear and detailed information about what data is shared with Meta companies and the purposes behind that sharing. Additionally, WhatsApp must provide users with clear opt-out options via in-app notifications and settings menus, implementing these adjustments for both new and existing users who agreed to the 2021 update.
This ruling marks the latest regulatory hurdle for Meta in India, where WhatsApp boasts over 450 million monthly active users. The company has been under increasing scrutiny since it rolled out the controversial privacy policy update in early 2021, which eliminated users’ ability to opt out of data sharing with other Meta platforms.