India's Supreme Court is locked in a landmark legal battle over WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy. At the heart of the dispute are privacy rights, consumer choice, and the regulation of dominant online platforms like WhatsApp, India's most popular messaging app with approximately 853 million users.
WhatsApp recently informed the Supreme Court it will comply with an order to provide Indian users more control over data shared with parent company Meta. The messaging platform stated users can continue using the app even if they opt out of data sharing for advertising. This comes after the court criticized the policy, warning against compromising citizens' privacy rights and the Constitution.
The 2021 policy update mandated users share data with Meta companies to continue using the app, a "take it or leave it" approach that India's competition watchdog deemed left users with "no real choice." Digital rights activists have also called the policy invasive, while others defend leveraging platform popularity for advertising as a standard internet practice.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigated in March 2021, alleging "exploitative and exclusionary conduct" by Meta. In November 2024, the CCI fined Meta $25 million for abusing its dominant position and ordered WhatsApp to cease sharing user data with Meta entities for five years, a ban later stayed by a tribunal. WhatsApp and Meta are contesting the fine in the Supreme Court.
The court has previously described the "take it or leave it policy" as akin to "committing theft of private information" and expressed concern over personal communications being used for targeted advertising. WhatsApp has reiterated that personal messages are end-to-end encrypted and committed to implementing CCI's data-sharing remedies, including an opt-out option for users via app settings.
Petitioners argue the policy violates rights to information and free speech. While some welcome the scrutiny of big tech profit motives, others, like digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa, argue that monetizing user metadata through advertising is a legitimate business model. Pahwa suggests users uncomfortable with data sharing can switch to alternatives like Signal or Telegram.