The Supreme Court rebuked online messaging platform WhatsApp and its parent Meta for allegedly exploiting the data of Indians, asking the company to exit the country if it can’t follow its constitutional values. The SC directed WhatsApp to completely stop sharing user information and asked the platform to provide a signed affidavit and undertaking from its management agreeing to the same, LiveLaw reported. “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 of privacy of this country, let a clear message go on your WhatsApp. You are making a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was quoted as saying. The SC was hearing an appeal filed by WhatsApp and Meta against a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order that upheld the INR 213.14 Cr penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy launched in 2021. While WhatsApp and Meta filed appeals against the order, the CCI filed a cross appeal against the NCLAT’s judgement as it allowed the platform to share users’ data for advertising purposes. A bench comprising CJI… Read MoreInc42 Media
