Privacy violation: Meta slapped with fine of Rs 213 crore

NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India has slapped a fine of Rs 213.14 crore on WhatsApp's parent company Meta over antitrust violations related to the messaging application's 2021 privacy policy. The commission had investigated complaints about the lack of transparency in WhatsApp sharing user data with Facebook.

During the investigation, it was found that WhatsApp had forced users to accept its privacy policy. It was also found that Meta had misused its dominant position, which is against the provisions of the Competition Commission Act. The commission directed that data collected by WhatsApp should not be shared with any entity, including Facebook, for five years.