The Indian government’s (Fair) Competition Committee (CCI) has fined WhatsApp a whopping $25.4 million in credit transaction violations over its controversial 2021 privacy policy, TechCrunch, North America’s largest online media, reported on the 18th (local time).
It also banned Meta-owned WhatsApp from sharing user personal information with Meta’s other media for advertising purposes for the next five years, according to the media.
India’s CCI began investigating WhatsApp in 2021 and stipulated that WhatsApp’s “take-it-or-leave-it” personal information update is ultimately taking advantage of Meta’s superior status and unilaterally pulling personal information from users.
The CCI has made it clear that sharing user personal information collected by WhatsApp with other meta companies will not be acceptable in future WhatsApp services in India. It also stated that unilateral WhatsApp collection of personal information acts as an entry barrier for Meta’s rivals, ultimately negating market fairness.
Meta-owned WhatsApp is actively used by 450 million users every month in India alone.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
