Supreme Court on WhatsApp, Meta privacy policy: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a strong warning to WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta, over concerns related to user data sharing. The apex court made it clear that citizens’ right to privacy cannot be compromised in the name of technology or business interests.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, strongly reprimanded the US-based company, saying, “You cannot play with privacy… we will not allow you to share even a single digit of our data.” The court added that it would not tolerate the exploitation of Indian users.
The hearing was related to WhatsApp’s 2021 “take it or leave it” privacy policy and the company law tribunal’s decision to uphold the Competition Commission of India’s Rs 213 crore fine on the company. Meta has also challenged the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s November 4 ruling, which largely upheld the Competition Commission of India’s findings and the penalty, but removed a key restriction.
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The court also directed Meta to file an affidavit clearly stating that it will not share WhatsApp user data for advertising purposes. It warned that failure to do so could lead to the dismissal of Meta’s case. However, there was also a cross-appeal by the CCI about sharing of user data for advertising purposes, which the tribunal allowed after ruling there was no ‘abuse of power’ by the company.
Adding further, the Supreme Court on Tuesday described the practice as a “mockery of constitutionalism” and questioned how user consent could be considered valid when acceptance of the policy was enforced on a “take it or leave it” basis. Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the issue against the companies was that the consent obtained was “manufactured consent.” Now, the court gave Meta and WhatsApp time to file a detailed response and scheduled the case for next Monday (February 9).
WhatsApp–Meta privacy policy case
In November 2024, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ruled that WhatsApp had abused its dominant position with its 2021 privacy policy update. The regulator said the company was effectively forcing users to accept the new terms to continue using the app.
The CCI specifically objected to WhatsApp requiring users to share data with other Meta platforms. As a result, it imposed a Rs 213 crore fine, which senior lawyers Mukul Rohatgi and Kapil Sibal informed the court had already been paid.
In January 2025, Meta and WhatsApp challenged the CCI’s decision. By November 2025, the company law tribunal lifted the five-year restriction on WhatsApp sharing user data, while keeping the fine intact.
