After the European Union earlier this year, the Indian government has taken on Meta.
CCI Slaps Meta With Rs 213 Crore Fine
The parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, along with Threads, has been handed a fine of Rs 213 crore on account of contravening privacy laws in the country.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta of the 2021 Privacy Policy Update. Along with that, the regulatory watchdog also issued a cease-and-desist order and specific behavioural remedies.
The regulatory body has accused the American social media giant of abusing its powers and dominant position in the market.
Abusing Dominant Position
WhatsApp notified users about updates to its terms of service and privacy policies.
According to the notification, WhatsApp users were required to accept these terms, including the expanded scope of data collection as well as mandatory data sharing with Meta comp.es, including Instagram, Threads and Facebook. This was required for users to continue using WhatsApp.
According to CCI, under the previous privacy policy dated August 25, 2016, WhatsApp users were given the option to decide whether they wanted to share their data with Facebook. However, with the latest policy update in 2021, WhatsApp made data sharing with Meta mandatory for all users, removing the earlier option to opt-out.
In addition, the CCI also claimed that Meta established a dominant space for WhatsApp as the service created an entry barrier for other competitors, denying them access to market display advertisements.
The parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, along with Threads, has been handed a fine of Rs 213 crore on account of contravening privacy laws in the country. | Photo Credit: Twitter
Meta’s Response
In response, Meta disagreed with the conclusion drawn by CCI and said that it would appeal the decision.
In a statement, Meta said, “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.”
The statement further added, “And since that time, WhatsApp has been incredibly valuable to people and businesses, enabling org.zations and government institutions to deliver citizen services through COVID and beyond, and as well as supporting small businesses in furtherance of the India economy. WhatsApp is able to do all of this because it offers services supported by Meta.”
Previously, Meta was slapped with a mammoth fine of EUR 798 million or Rs 7,135 crore for abusive practices in classified ads.
