“WhatsApp is not here to collect data and sell it. You are here to provide messaging and communication services,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said. He added that WhatsApp could not “play with the right of privacy of this country” and warned the company against “making a mockery of constitutionalism.” The CJI told WhatsApp to stop data-sharing activities if it wanted the court to hear the case further.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi also flagged that, unlike the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), 2023, does not account for the economic value of online personal data.
The Supreme Court made these comments while hearing appeals filed by Meta and WhatsApp challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order, which upheld the Rs 213.14 crore penalty imposed on WhatsApp by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for its 2021 Privacy Policy.
Accepting Meta’s appeals, the Supreme Court adjourned the matter to next Monday (February 9, 2026) and allowed Meta and WhatsApp to file affidavits. Additionally, at the request of the CCI’s counsel, Advocate Samar Bansal, the court impleaded the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as a party to the case.
A detailed timeline of the WhatsApp–CCI–NCLAT proceedings is provided at the end of this copy.
‘No Choice for the Consumer’
While agreeing to hear the appeals filed by Meta and WhatsApp, the CJI said, “We will not allow you to share even a single piece of information.” He also directed WhatsApp to submit an affidavit undertaking that it would not share user data, including with Meta-owned companies.
“You were bought by Facebook, tomorrow Facebook will be bought by someone else, and you will transfer the data. You cannot play with the right to privacy in this country; send a clear message on your WhatsApp. You are making a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country,” – CJI Surya Kant.
Advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for Meta and WhatsApp, argued that consumers had an opt-out option. Responding to this, the CJI said, “What do you mean by opt-out? You opt out of the country, withdraw your facilities from here. Because you are creating a monopoly in the market, there is no choice for the consumer.”
“Where is the question of opt-out? Show me your mobile, and I will show you my mobile. This is a decent way of committing theft of private information!” the CJI reportedly remarked during the hearing.
He further observed, “A poor woman selling fruits on the streets, will she understand the terms of your policy? Can you imagine the language you use, very cleverly drafted, even some of us will not be able to understand. The policy must be formulated from the perspective of the common customer. Will your domestic help understand this? You might have taken the data of millions of people. This is a decent way of…
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