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Meta, WhatsApp Accept SC Privacy Directives

  • By Thetripurapost Desk, New Delhi
  • Feb 23, 2026
  • 6

Global tech giants Meta and WhatsApp on Monday informed the Supreme Court of India that they would comply with the directions issued by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) concerning privacy safeguards and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) guidelines on sharing advertising-related user data.

A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, was hearing appeals filed by the companies challenging the NCLAT’s December 2025 order.

Following the court’s observations, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the companies, assured the Bench that all revised privacy policy conditions would be implemented by March 16, 2026. The companies subsequently withdrew their interim application against the NCLAT order, which was dismissed by the court.

Under the revised framework, users will be required to actively opt out if they do not wish their data to be shared for advertising purposes.

However, the CCI’s appeal remains pending before the apex court. The regulator is seeking restoration of the five-year ban on data sharing that was earlier imposed by it but later set aside by the NCLAT. The CCI contends that the issue extends beyond privacy concerns and raises significant competition law implications. The companies will also be required to file a compliance affidavit before the Commission.

The Bench also dismissed an intervention plea filed by an individual consumer, observing that the dispute is primarily between the CCI and the companies, and that alternative legal remedies remain available to the applicant.

The final adjudication on the validity of WhatsApp’s 2021 Privacy Policy is still awaited.

Earlier, the CCI had imposed a ₹213 crore penalty on Meta and barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with other platforms for advertising purposes for five years. On November 4, 2025, the NCLAT set aside the data-sharing ban but upheld the monetary penalty. The tribunal later clarified that its directions on privacy and consent safeguards would also extend to user data collected and processed for non-WhatsApp purposes.