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In a significant victory for Meta, an Indian tribunal has temporarily suspended a five-year ban on WhatsApp’s data sharing with its parent company. This ruling comes after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) accused WhatsApp of abusing its dominant market position.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ordered a hold on the ban while it reviews a challenge by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp to the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) ruling, arguing the ban could lead to a collapse of messaging platform’s business model, the news agency wrote.
In line with the antitrust order, WhatsApp is still required to add an opt-out option for sharing data, which it removed when it updated its terms of service and privacy policy in 2021, Reuters stated.
The tribunal also suspended a penalty imposed on WhatsApp on condition it pays half the fine, Bloomberg reported.
In challenging the ban, Meta Platforms argued WhatsApp could undo or suspend some features in India, limiting personalised advertisements for users on Facebook and Instagram.
The CCI fined meta platforms INR2.1 billion ($24.3 million) for abusing its dominant position in messaging and advertising, and issued the data-sharing ban.
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