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

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.

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.