The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued strong remarks against Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, over its 2021 privacy policy, warning the tech giant that it could be asked to leave India if it failed to respect citizens’ constitutional right to privacy.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya made the observations while hearing petitions related to WhatsApp’s controversial privacy policy update and a cross-appeal linked to a ₹213 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The fine had been upheld by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
“You can’t play with privacy. We will not allow you to share even a single digit of our data,” the Chief Justice said, adding that exploitation of Indian users would not be tolerated. “If you can’t follow our Constitution, leave India.”
The court questioned whether WhatsApp’s privacy policy could be understood by millions of poor, rural, and uneducated users. The bench expressed concern that complex legal language effectively deprived ordinary citizens of informed consent.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, criticised WhatsApp’s data-sharing practices for commercial purposes, calling them exploitative. He argued that users were forced to accept the policy to retain access to essential communication services.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Akhil Sibal, representing Meta and WhatsApp, maintained that all messages on the platform are end-to-end encrypted and that the company does not read user content.
The case traces back to a 2024 CCI ruling that found WhatsApp had abused its dominant market position by compelling users to share data with other Meta platforms. While a five-year ban on data sharing was later lifted by the tribunal, the penalty was upheld. The Supreme Court will continue hearing the matter.
