Technical News Office –The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a fine of Rs 213.14 crore on social media giant Meta, formerly known as Facebook. This action was taken due to WhatsApp’s privacy policy update in 2021 for abuse of Meta’s dominant position in the market.
Restrictions on data sharing
CCI has ordered WhatsApp not to share data collected from its users with other meta-companies or their products for advertising purposes. Additionally, WhatsApp must clearly state in its policy which data will be shared with other Meta companies and for what purpose.
Behind the scenes of CCI’s action
In January 2021, WhatsApp informed users about the new terms of service and privacy policy. In this update, sharing data with Meta became mandatory, requiring users to accept this take-it-or-leave-it policy. CCI called this a violation of competition law and user autonomy. The Commission believes that WhatsApp abused its dominant position and imposed unfair conditions on millions of users.
Will there be any changes in WhatsApp?
CCI has now asked Meta and WhatsApp to implement numerous changes. For example, WhatsApp will now have to clearly tell users what data it shares and for what purpose. For the next 5 years, WhatsApp will not be allowed to share user data with Meta solely for advertising purposes. Users will have to choose whether or not they want to share their data with meta-companies.
big blow for the meta
India is the largest market for Meta, where WhatsApp has over 500 million users and Meta’s total user base exceeds 1 billion. This move by CCI could have a profound impact on Meta’s data-driven business strategies.
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