Meta Slapped With Rs 213 Crore Penalty In India Over Data Sharing Practices

India's antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has delivered a major blow to Meta, imposing a Rs 213.14 crore or $25.4 million fine and restricting messaging platform WhatsApp from sharing user data with its parent company Meta's other platforms for advertising purposes, TechCrunch has reported.

CCI Ban On Cross-Platform Data Sharing

A five-year ban on Meta from sharing user data with its other platforms marks one of the most significant regulatory actions against the world's most-popular messaging platform in recent years.

The CCI announced the decision following a lengthy investigation into WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy changes. 

Notably, the messaging service did not give users the choice to opt out of data sharing with Meta's family of apps, a feature that had been available since 2016.

Meta To Appeal, Says 'Disagrees' With CCI 

"We disagree with the CCI’s decision and plan to appeal. As a reminder, the 2021 update did not change the privacy of people’s personal messages and was offered as a choice for users at the time. We also ensured no one would have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of the WhatsApp service because of this update," a Meta spokesperson told Acko Byte in a statement on Tuesday.

"The update was about introducing optional business features on WhatsApp, and provided further transparency about how we collect and use data. And since that time, WhatsApp has been incredibly valuable to people and businesses, enabling organizations and government institutions to deliver citizen services through COVID and beyond, and as well as supporting small businesses, all of which furthers the Indian economy. WhatsApp is able to do all of this because it offers 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," the spokesperson added.

Market Dominance And Anti-Competitive Behaviour

The investigation revealed WhatsApp's dominance in both smartphone messaging and online advertising markets in India. 

According to the competition watchdog, the company's mandatory data-sharing requirements created unfair barriers for competitors and restricted market access in digital advertising.

As per the CCI ruling, WhatsApp must implement several changes to its data handling practices in India:

• Maintain transparency about data sharing with Meta companies.
• Provide clear explanations of data usage purposes.
• Implement visible opt-out options through app notifications.
• Apply these changes to both new and existing users.