NCLAT Reserves Order on Meta and WhatsApp's Data-Sharing Petitions

PTI, New Delhi, Sep 26, 2025 : The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has completed its hearing and reserved its order on the appeals filed by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp, challenging the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) penalty imposed on the social media giants over the 2021 WhatsApp privacy policy update.

An NCLAT bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Member (Technical) Arun Baroka, has directed the parties to file written submissions by October 6, 2025. The bench also ordered all parties to submit concise notes of not more than ten pages by the given deadline.

The case revolves around the penalty of Rs 213.14 crore imposed on Meta Platforms for unfair business practices related to the WhatsApp privacy policy update in 2021. Senior Counsel Arun Kathpalia and Amit Sibbal represented Meta in the case and completed their submissions after the Competition Commission's Senior Advocate, Balbir Singh, presented his arguments.

In November 2024, CCI imposed the Rs 213.14 crore fine on Meta for its 2021 WhatsApp privacy policy, accusing the company of unfair market practices. Meta and WhatsApp then challenged the penalty before NCLAT, which in January this year stayed a five-year ban on data-sharing practices between WhatsApp and Meta for advertising purposes, offering some relief to the tech giant.

Kathpalia, in his rejoinder to CCI's arguments on Thursday, contended that the regulator's strategy was to repeat inaccuracies. He argued that CCI had made several incorrect statements, including the claim that the 2021 Privacy Policy had overridden the opt-out provision offered to users in 2016. He also took issue with CCI's argument that the five-year ban would allow "competition to revive," stating that no such reasoning was provided in the original order.

Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Amit Sibbal, representing Meta, argued that CCI had ignored several key points raised during the initial hearings. He submitted that CCI's argument that it did not need to find Meta dominant in the alleged market for online display advertisements to show that there was a denial of market access was legally flawed, based on an incorrect interpretation of Supreme Court judgments. Sibbal further emphasized that CCI was ignoring the fact that only limited data was being shared between WhatsApp and Meta.

Opposing the petitions, CCI’s counsel Balbir Singh argued that WhatsApp had abused its market position by imposing the 2021 privacy policy on a "take it or leave it" basis. He also rejected the argument that CCI had no jurisdiction in the matter, asserting that it was tied to public interest and falls under the purview of the fair trade regulator. Singh emphasized that competition law and data protection law serve complementary roles.

In its November 2024 order, CCI directed Meta to cease and desist from anti-competitive practices. CCI also ordered Meta and WhatsApp to implement several behavioral remedies to address competition concerns, including a five-year ban on sharing data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies or products for advertising purposes. Furthermore, CCI instructed that data sharing should not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp services in India.

The NCLAT has now reserved its judgment on the matter.