Supreme Court warns Meta not to share WhatsApp user data for ads
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a strong warning to global technology company Meta Platforms and its messaging service WhatsApp, saying they cannot be allowed to share user data for advertising purposes under WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi told Meta that continuing to share WhatsApp user data for advertising purposes will not be tolerated. The court directed Meta to file a statement making an explicit commitment not to share WhatsApp user data for advertising purposes, warning that failure to do so could result in the dismissal of its case.
The court panel said, “We will not allow you to share even a single word of user data. These must be very clear. If you are ready to give an affidavit (your management’s commitment), there is no harm in that. Otherwise, we will reject it. Data sharing is out of the question.”
The court also strongly criticized the way Meta framed opt-in and opt-out options for users, saying the policy language was not understandable to ordinary people.
“The language of your policy is such that an ordinary user cannot understand it. What option do you offer? Think of a street vendor; a poor woman sitting on the street, selling fruits. How will she understand your terms and conditions for opting in or opting out?” The board added that the policy appeared to be “very cleverly drafted”.
The Supreme Court granted Meta a week’s worth of affidavits and said it would hear the matter again next week before making further orders.
long dispute
The long-running dispute over WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy has reached the top court after being reviewed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The Supreme Court is hearing petitions filed by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp challenging this situation. ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed by CCI held that WhatsApp had abused its dominant position in the messaging market by forcing users to accept its 2021 privacy policy on a “take it or leave it” basis. According to the policy, users had to agree to share more data with Meta companies to continue using WhatsApp.
Meta also challenged the NCLAT’s November 4 order, which largely upheld the CCI’s findings and sentence but set aside a key restriction. At the same time, CCI approached the Supreme Court challenging the NCLAT’s decision to lift the five-year ban on WhatsApp sharing user data with Meta companies for advertising purposes.
While the NCLAT acknowledged that WhatsApp’s 2021 policy was based on forced consent and user choice harmed, it later clarified that WhatsApp must obtain user consent before sharing data with Meta companies for both advertising and non-advertising purposes and cannot claim open-ended rights over user data.
The dispute dates back to November 2024, when CCI fined Meta and WhatsApp ₹213.14 crore. Following NCLAT’s interim resolution in January 2025, the matter reached the Supreme Court and the court will now decide how far WhatsApp can go in sharing user data under its 2021 privacy policy.
