Court Challenges Data Practices And Consent
India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a sharp warning to Meta, saying it would not allow the company to “play with the right to privacy” of Indian users, as judges questioned how WhatsApp monetizes personal data during a hearing on the company’s appeal against a regulatory penalty.
The remarks came as Meta challenged sanctions tied to WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy. Judges repeatedly asked how users could give meaningful consent to data-sharing practices in a market where the messaging app functions as the default communications platform for many people.
With more than 500 million users, India is WhatsApp’s largest market and a key area for Meta’s advertising business. Judges questioned the potential commercial value of metadata generated by the service and how such data could be used across Meta’s wider advertising and AI operations.
Judges Cite Market Power And User Constraints
Chief Justice Surya Kant said the court would not allow Meta and WhatsApp to share even “a single piece of information” while the appeal is pending. He said users face little real choice in accepting WhatsApp’s privacy policy and described the service as a monopoly in practice.
Kant asked how “a poor woman selling fruits on the street” or a domestic worker could be expected to understand how their data is used. Other judges also pressed Meta on how user data is analysed beyond message content. Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the court wanted to examine the commercial value of behavioural data and its use in targeted advertising, adding that even anonymised or siloed information carries economic value. Government lawyers said personal data was not only collected but also commercially exploited.
Meta’s Position And Encryption Claims
Meta’s lawyers told the court that WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted and inaccessible even to the company. They said the privacy policy under review did not weaken user protections and did not allow chat content to be used for advertising.
Background Of The Penalty And Legal Path
The case stems from a 2021 update to WhatsApp’s privacy policy that required users in India to accept broader data-sharing terms with Meta or stop using the service. India’s competition regulator later imposed a ₹2.13 billion, or about $23.6 million, penalty, saying the policy abused WhatsApp’s dominant position in the messaging market. That ruling was upheld on appeal before Meta and WhatsApp asked the Supreme Court to review the case. Meta’s lawyers said the penalty has already been paid.
The Supreme Court adjourned the matter until February 9, giving Meta and WhatsApp time to explain their data practices in more detail. At the suggestion of the competition regulator, the court also agreed to add the IT ministry as a party to the case, which widens the scope of the proceedings.
Meta declined to comment.
Wider Scrutiny And Regulatory Context
WhatsApp has been under increased examination over data privacy in several countries. Authorities in the United States have reportedly reviewed claims that WhatsApp chats may not be as private as the company says, adding to questions about how encrypted messaging platforms handle user data.
In India, the service is also dealing with new regulatory limits, including recent SIM-binding rules aimed at reducing fraud, which could affect how widely small businesses use the platform.
Featured image credits: Needpix
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