TL;DR
- WhatsApp lands into trouble with CCI.
- CCI believes WhatsApp’s changed privacy policy is a breach of violations.
- Enquiry underway
Popular Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp has gotten into trouble with the watchdog for fairness in trade practices in India CCI aka Competition Commission of India. CCI is planning to take legal action against WhatsApp for violating competition rules linked to the controversial 2021 privacy policy update. The amendment allowed WhatsApp to share specific user data with parent company Meta, which sparked concern for safety among regulators around the world.
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What the issue is?
The controversy started when WhatsApp announced changes to its privacy policy in 2021 which allowed the platform to share a specific amount of user data with Meta. This raised alarm as many expressed concerns about how this would be a threat to user privacy in India. Following this, CCI launched an investigation into the amendment to find out whether WhatsApp’s move was actually a violation or not.
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What did CCI conclude?
A report by Livemint claims that the CCI’s Director General concluded that WhatsApp as well as Meta had misused their positions and breached Indian competition regulations. The report concludes that the messaging platform’s data-sharing agreement gave its parent company and subsidiaries an unfair advantage over competitors. By accessing information related to business transactions, WhatsApp and Meta were able to outpace other digital service providers and breach the privacy of individuals.
The CCI has now drafted an order that is based on DG’s findings. If this draft gets approved, WhatsApp and Meta might face penalties for their misconduct.
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What does WhatsApp say?
A WhatsApp spokesperson stated that the CCI proceedings are still going on and the company can’t comment on the case until the final verdict is given. He further clarified that users had the option to accept or decline the new policy of WhatsApp. Those who declined it could continue using the app without any restrictions or breaches.
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