India's Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a strong warning to Meta Platforms and its messaging service WhatsApp over the company's 2021 privacy policy, stating they "cannot play with the right to privacy" of Indian citizens. The court is hearing appeals from Meta and WhatsApp against a ₹213.14 crore (approx. $25.4 million) penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for allegedly abusing its dominant market position.
The core of the dispute is WhatsApp's updated policy that requires users to agree to share certain data with its parent company, Meta. The Chief Justice remarked that the 'take-it-or-leave-it' nature of the policy gives consumers no real choice due to WhatsApp's market monopoly. The court criticized the complexity of the privacy terms, suggesting they are a "decent way of committing theft of private information." The bench has indicated it may pass a detailed order on the matter soon.