Indian Tribunal Suspends 5-Year Ban on WhatsApp Data Sharing with Meta

The NCLAT partially stayed the CCI's antitrust order, allowing WhatsApp to share metadata with Meta for ads while requiring compliance with opt-out provisions.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) stayed the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) five-year ban on WhatsApp sharing metadata with Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram for advertising purposes.
WhatsApp must comply with CCI's directive to provide users with an opt-out option for data sharing, including those who accepted the 2021 privacy policy update.
The tribunal required WhatsApp to pay 50% of the ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed by the CCI within two weeks, while the remaining penalty is under review.
The NCLAT noted that the five-year ban could disrupt WhatsApp's business model, which relies on free services and metadata sharing for monetization.
The tribunal stated that both parties could seek modifications to the ruling if India's new Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which may address data-sharing concerns, comes into effect.