New Delhi: A big relief for Meta came in today as the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) stayed an order by the Competition Commission of India to halt user data transfer to parent firm Meta.
However, it’s not all hunky dory as the NCLAT directed Meta to deposit Rs 106.5 crore, 50% of the penalty amount within two weeks.
It is to be noted that Meta has already paid 25% of the fine.
The root cause of the problem is WhatsApp's January 2021 in-app notice that users must accept its updated privacy policy by February 8, 2021, or risk the service being discontinued.
On January 16, the NCLAT reserved its decision in response to a request by Meta and WhatsApp to halt the CCI verdict that levied a Rs 213 crore fine for "abuse of dominant position."
Their top concern was the CCI ruling prohibiting WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for five years to run ads.
Given that WhatsApp is free, the bankruptcy appellate tribunal pointed out that a five-year restriction on the company sharing user data with Meta may cause the business model to fail.
According to the NCLAT, WhatsApp has been sharing user data since introducing its privacy policy in 2021.
/bmi/media/agency_attachments/KAKPsR4kHI0ik7widvjr.png)
/bmi/media/member_avatars/bmi-visual.jpg )
Follow Us/bmi/media/media_files/lqNlCXCgOr06sF66mAkG.jpg)