WhatsApp Must Seek Clear User Consent for All Data Uses, Antitrust Appeals Tribunal Clarifies

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India’s National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has clarified that the consent and transparency safeguards upheld for WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy apply to all non-essential uses of user data, not only advertising.

The judgment arises from a prolonged legal battle between WhatsApp LLC and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over the firm’s privacy policy, which allowed user data to be shared across Meta’s ecosystem, including Facebook and Instagram. 

While the tribunal had earlier set aside a contentious five-year ban on using WhatsApp data for advertising, it has now made clear that advertising-related data use cannot bypass competition law scrutiny.

Upholding the CCI’s findings, the tribunal agreed that WhatsApp’s data-sharing practices strengthened Meta’s position in the online display advertising market. 

By combining WhatsApp’s vast messaging data with Meta’s advertising infrastructure, the company effectively created entry barriers for rival ad-tech and digital advertising platforms that lack access to similar data pools.

The tribunal noted that cross-platform data sharing between WhatsApp and Meta strengthened Meta’s competitive position in display advertising and created entry barriers for rivals, even though it set aside the specific allegation of leveraging dominance under Section 4(2)(e) for lack of sufficient evidence.

The linkage between private messaging data and advertising outcomes lay at the heart of the competition concerns.

At the core of the ruling is a clear principle: any non-essential use of user data, including advertising, requires express, informed and revocable consent. WhatsApp, the tribunal said, cannot rely on “take-it-or-leave-it” terms or claim open-ended rights over user data, regardless of whether the data is used for ads or other commercial purposes.

The NCLAT also acknowledged that an earlier operative order had inadvertently weakened this standard by excluding one disclosure requirement. That omission has now been corrected. 

Meta must ensure detailed disclosure of the categories of WhatsApp user data that are shared with its group companies, along with a clear explanation of how each category of data is linked to a specific advertising purpose. The company is also required to provide opt-out mechanisms that users can revoke at any time, while maintaining full transparency across both advertising and non-advertising uses of WhatsApp data.

Why it matters

India is one of Meta’s most important markets for click-to-WhatsApp ads, conversational commerce and small-business advertising. The clarification directly affects how data flows between WhatsApp and Meta’s ad stack, including targeting, attribution and optimization.

Meta had argued that advertising-related data sharing occurs only through optional features and does not condition access to WhatsApp. The tribunal rejected this defence, stressing that optionality does not dilute the obligation for informed consent and transparency.

For the broader ecosystem, the ruling is expected to curb unchecked cross-platform data pooling, strengthen independent ad-tech players and align competition enforcement with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act. It also sets a precedent that messaging platforms cannot be quietly transformed into advertising data engines.

On WhatsApp’s request, the tribunal has granted three months to implement the required changes.