SC warns Meta not to share WhatsApp user data for ads

2021 policy allowed sharing phone numbers, device info, interactions with business accounts

- Krishna Yadav

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a strong warning to global technology company Meta Platforms and its messaging service WhatsApp, saying they cannot be allowed to share user data for advertising purposes under WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy.

A bench led by the chief justice and also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi told Meta that any continued sharing of WhatsApp user data for advertising would not be tolerated.

The court initially asked Meta and WhatsApp to file an affidavit giving a clear undertaking that WhatsApp user data would not be shared for advertising purposes, warning that failure to do so could result in dismissal of their case. However, the court did not pass any adverse order at the end of the proceedings after the legal team representing Meta and WhatsApp sought time to respond to its queries.

WhatsApp’s 2021 policy allowed the sharing of user data such as phone numbers, device information and interactions with business accounts with its parent company Meta on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, raising privacy and competition concerns in India. This led the country’s competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), to investigate the policy and impose a penalty for abuse of dominant position.