Meta to appeal against CCI's antitrust order on WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy update

WhatsApp has more than 500 million monthly active users in the country.

Facebook parent Meta plans to appeal against the Competition Commission of India (CCI)'s November 18 antitrust order related to WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy update.

"We disagree with the CCI’s decision...We are committed to finding a path forward that allows us to continue providing the experiences that people and businesses have come to expect from us" a Meta spokesperson told Moneycontrol.

On November 18, CCI directed WhatsApp not to share user data collected on its platform with other Meta products or companies for advertising purposes for a period of five years, along with other remedial measures. It also fined Meta Rs 213.14 crore for abusing its dominant position.

The order from India's antitrust watchdog delivers a blow to the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp in its largest user market, with a combined base of over a billion monthly users. WhatsApp alone has more than 500 million monthly active users in the country.

CCI started an investigation in March 2021 into WhatsApp's revised privacy policy, which enabled mandatory data sharing with Facebook (now Meta) and its companies, along with an expanded scope of data collection. Prior to this, users had the option to decide whether to share their data with the company since 2016.

The policy, which started rolling out to users from January 2021, was set to take effect from February 2021. WhatsApp required users to accept the new terms to continue using the service.

"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 spokesperson said.

The spokesperson mentioned the update was instead about introducing optional business features on WhatsApp, and provided further transparency about how the company collects and uses data.

"Since that time, WhatsApp has been incredibly valuable to people and businesses, enabling organizations and government institutions to deliver citizen services through COVID and beyond, and as well as supporting small businesses, all of which furthers the Indian economy. WhatsApp is able to do all of this because it offers services supported by Meta" the spokesperson said.

India is one of the key priority markets for Meta's business messaging ambitions, as the company looks to diversify its revenue sources beyond traditional digital advertising. It has also been a big growth driver for the social networking giant in the country.

In September, Meta India head Sandhya Devanathan told Moneycontrol in an interview that revenues from Click-to-WhatsApp ads has doubled in the country in the past year, without disclosing any specific numbers.

Over the past couple of years, Meta has announced a slew of products and features to drive the adoption of WhatsApp's business offerings among small and medium-sized businesses in the country, as well as enterprises.