CCI's Meta ruling sparks turf debate

Competition Commission of India (CCI) order against Meta Platforms Inc. in November over its messaging application WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy update has revived questions of overlapping jurisdictions between sectoral regulators and CCI, two persons informed about the development said.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

The CCI had imposed a ₹213 crore penalty on Meta for allegedly abusing its dominant position and prohibited WhatsApp from sharing user data collected on its platform with any other Meta companies or products for advertising purposes for five years. The order, however, is in conflict with Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 and draft rules to implement the law released by ministry of electronics and information on 3 January. The rules allow processing of digital personal data of individuals with informed consent, the persons said, seeking anonymity. The new law entrusts the Data Protection Board of India, to be set up by the government, with overseeing the legitimate use of personal data with consent.

"CCI's order on Meta Platforms prohibiting data sharing by WhatsApp for five years signals CCI's role as a guardian of personal data. It goes against individual's sovereignty over data and small and medium businesses' ability to go for targeted advertising on the basis of such data," the person said.