India has imposed a fine of $25.4 million on WhatsApp and directed the company to stop sharing users’ data.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered WhatsApp to cease sharing users’ data for advertising purposes with Meta’s other apps. The CCI has instructed WhatsApp to stop data sharing for the next five years.
The investigation against WhatsApp by the CCI began in March 2021, after the introduction of WhatsApp’s privacy policy, which made data sharing with Meta and its apps mandatory.
In a statement, the CCI said that Meta is being fined $25.4 million for the misuse of its dominant position in the 2021 privacy update.
The Indian authority has directed WhatsApp not to share users’ data with other Meta apps and to provide users with an option to decide whether to accept the policy.
On the other hand, Meta has decided to appeal the decision of the Indian Competition Commission. A Meta spokesperson stated that the 2021 policy did not alter the privacy of users’ personal messages.
It is important to note that India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than 500 million users.
