'You Can't Play With Data Of Indians': Supreme Court Questions Meta & WhatsApp Over Privacy Policy

The Supreme Court on Tuesday made strong critical remarks against Meta Platforms and WhatsApp LLC regarding their privacy policy and said that the Court will not allow them to exploit the personal data of Indians.

The Court was hearing the appeals filed by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp LLC challenging the judgment of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) which had upheld the ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy.

There was also a cross-appeal filed by the Competition Commission of India challenging the NCLAT's order to the extent it allowed Meta and WhatsApp to share users' data for advertising purposes after finding that there was no abuse of dominance by them.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi heard the matters.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi and Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for Meta and WhatsApp, respectively, informed that the penalty amount has been deposited.

Theft of private information : SC slams WhatsApp & Meta

CJI Surya Kant, while agreeing to admit the appeals, however, raised concerns about the privacy policy of the platform. CJI infact even started dictating an order restraining the platforms from sharing the data. Rohatgi and Sibal interjected to submit that the NCLAT has actually decided in their favour on this point. The CCI's counsel contested this claim.

The CJI questioned the claim that WhatsApp has given a choice to the customer, since the platform is a monopoly. "What is the choice? You have complete monopoly in the market and you are saying I am giving a choice. It is either you walk out of WhatsApp policy or we will share the data."

"We may hear the appeal on merits. In the meantime, we will not allow you to share even a single piece of information. If you can give an affidavit of your management with an undertaking, we will hear, or else we will dismiss. You were bought by Facebook, tomorrow Facebook will be bought by someone else and you will transfer the data. You cannot play with the right of privacy of this country, let a clear message go on your WhatsApp. You are making a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country," CJI Surya Kant said.

When Sibal said that it is done with the consent of the consumer and there is an "opt-out" option, CJI said, "What do you mean by opt-out? You opt-out of the country, withdraw your facilities from here. Because you are creating a monopoly in the market, there is no choice for the consumer."

When Sibal reiterated that there is an option to opt out of the policy, CJI questioned the efficacy of the policy. "A poor woman selling fruits on the streets, will she understand the terms of your policy? Can you imagine the language you use, very cleverly drafted, even some of us will not be able to understand. The policy must be formulated from the perspective of the common customer. Will your domestic help understand this? You might have taken the data of millions of persons. This is a decent way of committing theft of private information. We will not allow you to use it," CJI Kant said.

CJI said that unless WhatsApp and Meta give an undertaking that the personal data of users will not be used, the Court will not hear the matter. Rohatgi at this juncture submitted that a Constitution Bench is examining WhatsApp's privacy policy, and in that matter, an undertaking was given that no user will be barred from WhatsApp for not accepting the 2021 privacy policy. Rohatgi said that the Constitution Bench has allowed WhatsApp to proceed in the same fashion as it was functioning in other jurisdictions.

Rohatgi also submitted that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 has given time till May 2027. Justice Bagchi however pointed out that the Act is yet to be in force.

Will examine how personal data is exploited commercially : Bench

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta interjected to submit that "our personal data is not only sold, but also commercially exploited."

Justice Bagchi said that the Court will like to examine how the data is "rented out" by WhatsApp and how people are targeted with ads after anaylsing their behavioural trends.

"Every silo of data, irrespective of privacy, has a value, we would like to examine, what is the rent sharing of data...we are concerned about how our behaviour is utlitsed and monetised for trends..You are using the data for the purpose of targeted online advertising," Justice Bagchi said.

CJI Kant said that he has personal experience. "If a message is sent to a doctor on WhatsApp that you are feeling under the weather, and the doctor sends some medicine prescriptions, immediately you start seeing ads," CJI said.

Rohatgi and Sibal then vehemently submitted that WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted and that even "WhatsApp cannot see the messages sent between two users."

Justice Bagchi said that the DPDP Act does not address the issue of "value" on data sharing, unlike the EU Regulations. Solicitor General said that in EC, there is a value put on data shared, and it is taxable with a notional value.

Senior Advocate Samar Bansal, appearing for the CCI, submitted that the CCI has examined this aspect and the penalty was accordingly imposed. "Their entire revenue comes from advertising. We are the products milords. It is free because of that," Bansal submitted.

Faced with the volley of queries from the Court, Rohatgi said that Meta will file an affidavit explaining their activities and said that the Court may take a call after reading that.

Accepting this proposal, the Court adjourned the matter till next Monday, allowing Meta and WhatsApp to file affidavits. Also, based on suggestion by Bansal, the Court also impleaded the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as a party to the case.

Background

The dispute arises from the Competition Commission of India (CCI)'s November 2024 order examining WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy update. The regulator held that WhatsApp, which enjoys a dominant position in India's OTT messaging market, imposed a “take-it-or-leave-it” framework on users, denying them any meaningful opt-out.

According to the CCI, WhatsApp made continued access to its messaging service conditional on users accepting expanded data sharing with other Meta Platforms group entities. This, the regulator found, amounted to an abuse of dominant position under the Competition Act, 2002.

On this basis, the CCI imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta Platforms and issued a series of remedial directions aimed at restoring user choice. These included prohibiting WhatsApp from tying service access to data sharing, mandating clear opt-in and opt-out mechanisms, and requiring detailed disclosures on the nature and purpose of data sharing across Meta's platforms.

Meta Platforms and WhatsApp challenged the CCI's order before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in January 2025. In November 2025, the NCLAT set aside the five-year restriction on advertising-related data sharing and overturned the CCI's finding that WhatsApp had unlawfully leveraged its dominance into Meta's advertising ecosystem. However, it nonetheless upheld the Rs 213.14 crore penalty imposed on Meta Platforms.

Case Details: META PLATFORMS, INC Versus COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA AND ORS.| C.A. No. 301-302/2026 & WHATSAPP LLC v CCI C.A. No. 366-367/2026