NCLAT reserves verdict on CCI's plea in WhatsApp-Meta data-sharing case

In November this year, the NCLAT had set aside the CCI's five-year prohibition on data sharing for advertising, but upheld the penalty of ₹213.14 crore and other directions issued by the regulator

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The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday reserved its order on a clarification plea filed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) concerning the tribunal’s November 4 judgment in the WhatsApp-Meta data-sharing case.

 

The CCI had moved the appellate tribunal seeking clarity on its November 4 ruling, which had overturned the regulator’s directive barring Meta and WhatsApp from sharing user data with other Meta group companies for advertising purposes for five years. In its application, the CCI has asked the appellate tribunal to clarify whether the privacy safeguards the judgment emphasised for non-advertising data sharing should also apply to data used for advertising, given the ruling’s focus on user consent and privacy.

 

The CCI has sought clarification from the NCLAT on whether Meta’s data sharing, whether for ads or other purposes, must have the same strong user privacy protections, transparency, and genuine user consent. A bench led by Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Arun Baroka granted Meta and WhatsApp time to file their objections and issued notice on a separate plea by the companies seeking redaction of confidential portions of the judgment.

 

In November this year, the NCLAT had set aside the CCI’s five-year prohibition on data sharing for advertising, but upheld the penalty of Rs 213.14 crore and other directions issued by the regulator. The two-member bench had also struck down the CCI’s finding that Meta abused its dominant position in the messaging market to bolster its online advertising business.