The Supreme Court postponed a hearing on the petitions submitted by WhatsApp and Meta, parent firm of WhatsApp on January 9th. The INR 213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) regarding the messaging platform’s 2021 privacy policy has been contested by the IT titans. A hearing has been scheduled for 23 February.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal was unable to attend the hearing; thus, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant adjourned it. Sibal was representing Meta and WhatsApp in the apex court.Why CCI Penalised the WhatsApp?The contentious change to WhatsApp’s privacy policies in 2021 is at the heart of the dispute. This update facilitated the exchange of user data, such as phone numbers, device information, and interactions with business accounts, with Meta corporations. Privacy and competition were two of the many issues that the regulation sparked. Based on these concerns, the CCI decided to investigate whether WhatsApp had misused its dominating position in the messaging market in March 2021 after taking suo motu cognisance of the matter.As a result of the investigation, Meta and WhatsApp were fined. Meta and WhatsApp were served a severe warning by the Supreme Court during the prior hearing… Read MoreStartupTalky- Business News, Insights and Stories
