Meta Disagree With The CCI's Privacy Policy Ruling
Recently, India's antitrust authority, the CCI, fined Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Rs 231 crore for abusing its dominant position in respect to the messaging platform's contentious 2021 privacy policy amendment.
Meta Disagree With The CCI's
On Monday, the Competition Commission of India slapped a Rs 213.14 crore penalty on Meta for abusing its dominant position. The penalty is related to the contentious implementation of the WhatsApp interface update 2021, which dictated data sharing between WhatsApp and Meta businesses such as Facebook, creating concerns about user privacy and market fairness.
A CCI spokesperson said, “The interface modifications represent a significant shift in how WhatsApp handles user privacy in India. Users will have greater control over their data through easily accessible opt-out options.”
However, in response, Meta's spokesperson said that the firm disagreed with the CCI's decision and plans to appeal.
Meta spokesperson stated, "As a reminder, the 2021 update did not change the privacy of people's personal messages and was offered as a choice for users at the time. We also ensured no one would have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of the WhatsApp service because of this update.”
"WhatsApp is able to do all of this because it offers services supported by Meta. We are committed to finding a path forward that allows us to continue providing the experiences that people and businesses have come to expect from us,” the spokesperson added.
