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An Indian appeals court temporarily halted an antitrust ruling that fined WhatsApp and prohibited the messenger from sharing user data with other firms and products owned by parent Meta Platforms Inc.
The halt is a short-term breather for WhatsApp in India, its biggest market by users. It also means WhatsApp can effectively continue to share user data within the Meta group for now.
India’s antitrust regulator late last year slapped a penalty of 2.13 billion rupees ($24.7 million) on Meta for abuse of its “dominant position.” At the time, the Competition Commission of India concluded that WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update unfairly compels users to agree to wide collection of data and its sharing within Meta group.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Thursday also suspended the fine imposed on WhatsApp on condition that the firm pays half of the amount. It refused to block some of other aspects of the CCI order.
Meta said it welcomed the NCLAT’s interim decision. “While we will evaluate next steps, our focus remains on finding a path forward that supports millions of businesses that depend on our platform for growth and innovation as well as providing high-quality experiences that people expect from WhatsApp,” Meta said in a statement.
The antitrust order directly hurt WhatsApp’s business model by barring collection and sharing of certain user data for five years, according to the company. Lawyers for the antitrust regulator have previously argued to the appeals court that WhatsApp follows a less-intrusive privacy policy in Europe.
WhatsApp’s 2021 policy has led to several lawsuits in India. The popular messaging app also faces a separate case that alleges its policy violates Indians’ right to privacy.
WhatsApp has earlier told the Supreme Court that it won’t remove users who don’t accept its 2021 policy until the country’s data protection rules become effective.
The NCLAT will next hear the case March 17.
(Updates to add comment from company in fifth paragraph.)
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