Supreme Court to hear Meta, WhatsApp pleas on Rs 213.14 crore CCI penalty on Feb 23

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday the pleas filed by Meta Platforms Inc and WhatsApp challenging a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order that imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore over WhatsApp’s privacy policy.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, is expected to take up the matter.

At the previous hearing on February 3, the bench made sharp observations on data sharing, stating the companies could not “play with the right to privacy of citizens” and indicating concerns over alleged monopoly-building and misuse of private information.

The court also referred to “silent customers” who are unorganised, digitally dependent, and may not fully understand the implications of data-sharing terms. It said it would not allow citizens’ rights to be harmed.

The proceedings relate to appeals against the CCI order penalising Meta and WhatsApp over the privacy policy.

On November 4, 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) set aside a part of the CCI order that had barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for advertising purposes for five years, while retaining the Rs 213.14 crore penalty.

Subsequently, NCLAT clarified that its directions on privacy and consent safeguards extend to user data collection and sharing for purposes beyond WhatsApp, including both advertising and non-advertising use.

The Supreme Court had earlier indicated it would pass an interim order and directed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) be impleaded as a party to the appeals.

The bench is also hearing a cross-appeal by the CCI, which has challenged the NCLAT decision to the extent it permitted WhatsApp and Meta to continue sharing user data for advertising purposes.