NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Monday is slated to hear pleas filed by Meta Platforms and its messaging platform WhatsApp challenging an order of the Competition Commission of India imposing a penalty of 213.14 crore over the platform’s privacy policy and data-sharing practices.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymallya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi is expected to take up the matter for hearing.
During earlier proceedings on February 3, the apex court had made strong observations, stating that companies cannot “play with the right to privacy of citizens in the name of data sharing”. The bench also voiced concern that the policy could potentially create a monopoly in the digital messaging ecosystem and adversely affect consumer choice.
Criticising the data-sharing framework, the court referred to what it described as “silent customers” users who are largely unorganised, digitally dependent and often unaware of the implications of consent-based data-sharing mechanisms. The bench emphasised that the court would not allow the rights of citizens to be compromised and underlined that protection of informational privacy remains a constitutional priority.
The appeals arise from regulatory proceedings initiated by the competition watchdog over WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy, which examined whether the terms enabled excessive collection and sharing of user data with its parent company.
On November 4, 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal partly modified the competition regulator’s order. While the tribunal set aside a direction that had barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for advertising purposes for five years, it retained the monetary penalty of 213 crore.
The tribunal subsequently clarified that its ruling concerning privacy safeguards and user consent would extend not only to advertising-related data usage but also to collection and sharing of user information for non-advertising purposes.
The Supreme Court had earlier indicated that it would consider passing an interim order and directed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology be impleaded as a party to the proceedings, recognising the wider regulatory and technological implications involved.
Apart from the companies’ appeals, the bench is also examining a cross-appeal filed by the competition regulator challenging the tribunal’s decision to permit continued data-sharing for advertising purposes.
The outcome of the hearing is expected to have significant implications for digital competition regulation, user consent norms and data-protection standards governing major technology platforms operating in India.
