Meta to appeal against CCI penalty on charges of abusing dominant position

New Delhi [India], November 19 (ANI): Meta to appeal against the Rs 213.14 crore penalty imposed on it by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for charges of abusing its dominant position.

On Tuesday, Meta said it disagrees with the Competition Commission of India's decision to slap a penalty and plans to appeal against the CCI order.

A Meta spokesperson in a statement argued that 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," the spokesperson added.

"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."The Meta spokesperson said they are committed to finding a path forward that allows them to continue providing the experiences that people and businesses have come to expect from them.

According to CCI, the case pertains to the implementation of WhatsApp's 2021 Privacy Policy, which involved controversial data collection and sharing practices with other Meta entities.

Along with the penalty, the CCI has issued cease-and-desist directions and mandated behavioural remedies to be implemented within a stipulated timeline.

In January 2021, WhatsApp introduced updates to its terms of service and privacy policy, notifying users via in-app prompts. Effective from February 8, 2021, the new policy required users to accept expanded data collection terms, including mandatory sharing of user data with other Meta companies.

Unlike the 2016 privacy policy, which allowed users to opt out of data sharing with Facebook, the 2021 update removed this choice, compelling users to accept the terms or lose access to WhatsApp.

The CCI found this 'take-it-or-leave-it' policy to be an unfair condition under the Competition Act, as it forced users to comply with expanded data collection and sharing terms, undermining their autonomy.

The Commission also highlighted anti-competitive practices arising from the sharing of user data between Meta entities.

WhatsApp is prohibited from sharing user data collected on its platform with other Meta companies for advertising purposes for five years. After this period, certain provisions will apply to regulate such data sharing. (ANI)