Meta opposes CCI on penalty

New Delhi: After the Competition Commission imposed a Rs213-crore penalty on Meta in relation to WhatsApp privacy policy, the company said it disagrees with the watchdog’s decision and plans to appeal.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday asked WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data with other applications, owned by Meta, for advertising purposes for a period of five years. India’s competition watchdog imposed a penalty of Rs213.14 crore on the social media giant for unfair business ways with respect to WhatsApp privacy policy update done in 2021. Besides, the competition watchdog has directed Meta to cease and desist from anti-competitive practices.

Meta and WhatsApp have also been asked to implement certain behavioural remedies within a defined timeline to address the anti-competition issues, according to a CCI order.