Supreme Court Raises Red Flags Over Meta, WhatsApp Data Practices
The Supreme Court takes up challenges to an antitrust penalty as judges question consent, market power and the commercial use of user data
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India’s Supreme Court tore into Meta Platforms Inc. and WhatsApp LLC over the messaging app’s 2021 privacy-policy update, with the bench saying it would not allow the ‘theft of private information’ under the cover of consent in a market where users have little real choice.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, agreed to hear appeals by Meta and WhatsApp challenging a ₹213.14 crore (about $26 million) penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The companies told the court the fine had been deposited.
The court adjourned the matter to 9 February and also ordered the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology added as a party, saying the dispute sits at the intersection of information-technology policy, cybersecurity and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.
The hearing stems from a November 2024 antitrust order that found WhatsApp’s 2021 policy effectively forced users to accept expanded data sharing with Meta group entities or lose access, an approach the regulator characterized as abusive in a market where WhatsApp dominates messaging.
WhatsApp has said the policy does not affect private message content and applies primarily to business interactions and service integration, a position disputed by the regulator.
In court, the bench repeatedly framed the issue as one of meaningful consent and the ability of ordinary users to understand what they are agreeing to.
“We will not allow you to share even a single information. You cannot play with the rights of this country,” Kant said, according to courtroom reporting.
When WhatsApp’s lawyers pointed to opt-out and consent mechanics, the chief justice questioned whether that was a real choice in a service many Indians depend on, calling the policy “a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country” and likening the arrangement to a coerced bargain.
He also pressed the point in practical terms, asking whether a “poor woman selling fruits on the streets” or “your domestic help” would understand the terms, and described the practice as “a decent way of committing theft of private information.”
Justice Bagchi trained his questioning on monetization, with counsel and judges discussing how personal data is packaged for advertising.
“Every silo of data, irrespective of privacy, has a value,” he said, in remarks reported from the hearing.
The bench also raised doubts about end-to-end encryption claims, with Kant citing personal experience and questioning how discussions about health could be followed by advertisements.
Appearing for the government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta criticized the policy as exploitative and commercially driven, according to submissions made in court.
Counsel for the antitrust regulator also made the economics explicit.
“We are the products milords. It (WhatsApp) is free because of that,” Samar Bansal told the court.
On the companies’ side, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Akhil Sibal appeared for WhatsApp and Meta respectively, and Rohatgi offered to file a short affidavit explaining how the platform operates.
The Supreme Court is also dealing with a cross-appeal by the CCI. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal upheld the monetary penalty in 2024 but relaxed some restrictions, allowing data sharing for advertising after concluding there was no abuse of dominance on that specific issue.
The case is unfolding as India operationalizes its Digital Personal Data Protection Act, passed in 2023, with full enforcement expected later in the decade.
India is one of Meta’s biggest markets, and WhatsApp’s privacy-policy dispute has become a test case for how Indian courts and regulators balance competition enforcement with privacy rights and the commercial reality of ad-funded platforms.
