Supreme Court warns Meta not to share WhatsApp user data for ads – Mint

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a strong warning to global technology company Meta Platforms and its messaging service WhatsApp, saying they cannot be allowed to share user data for advertising purposes under WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, told Meta that any continued sharing of WhatsApp user data for advertising would not be tolerated. The court directed Meta to file an affidavit giving a clear undertaking that it would not share WhatsApp user data for advertising purposes, warning that failure to do so could result in its case being dismissed.
“We will not allow you to share a single word of user data. These things must be very clear. If you are ready to give an affidavit—an undertaking from your management—that is fine. Otherwise, we will dismiss it. There is no question of sharing data,” the bench said.
The court also strongly criticised the manner in which Meta framed its opt-in and opt-out choices for users, saying the policy language was not comprehensible to ordinary people.
“The language of your policy is such that an ordinary user cannot understand it. What kind of option are you giving? Imagine a street vendor—a poor woman sitting on the street selling fruits. How will she understand your terms and conditions about opting in or opting out?” the bench said, adding that the policy appeared to be “very cleverly crafted”.
The Supreme Court gave Meta a week file the affidavit and said it would hear the matter again next week before passing further orders.
The long-running dispute over WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy reached the apex court after being examined by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The Supreme Court is hearing petitions filed by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp challenging the ₹213.14-crore penalty imposed by the CCI, which held that WhatsApp abused its dominant position in the messaging market by forcing users to accept its 2021 privacy policy on a “take-it-or-leave-it” basis. Under the policy, users had to agree to share more data with Meta companies to continue using WhatsApp.
Meta has also challenged the NCLAT’s 4 November ruling, which largely upheld the CCI’s findings and the penalty, but set aside a key restriction. At the same time, the CCI has approached the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT’s decision to remove the five-year ban on WhatsApp sharing user data with Meta companies for advertising.
While the NCLAT agreed that WhatsApp’s 2021 policy relied on coerced consent and harmed user choice, it later clarified that WhatsApp must obtain user consent before sharing data with Meta companies for both advertising and non-advertising purposes, and that it cannot claim open-ended rights over user data.
The dispute dates back to November 2024, when the CCI fined Meta and WhatsApp ₹213.14 crore. After interim relief from the NCLAT in January 2025, the matter reached the Supreme Court, which will now decide how far WhatsApp can go in sharing user data under its 2021 privacy policy.
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