The Supreme Court issued a strong warning to tech giant Meta Platforms over its messaging app WhatsApp's privacy policy on Tuesday and said that the court will not allow them to exploit the personal data of Indians.
The bench led by Chief Justice Surya reprimanded the US company by saying, "You can't play with the privacy of our country... We will not allow you to share a single digit of our data". He also said that the company could leave India if it fails to comply with the nation’s laws.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta criticised the "exploitative" policy for sharing user data for commercial purposes.
"You are making a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country. We will dismiss it right away. How can you play with the right of privacy of people like this? Consumer has no choice, you have created monopoly," The Chief Justice said.
"If you can't follow our Constitution, then leave India. We won't allow any citizen's privacy to be compromised." Justice Surya told the firm.
The court also asked the firm if its policy would be understood by "... a poor woman or a roadside vendor, or someone who only speaks Tamil... will they be able to understand?"
"Sometimes even we have difficulty understanding your policies..." the court ripped into Meta and WhatsApp, "... so how will people living in rural Bihar understand them?"
Justice Bagchi said that court will examine how data is "rented out" by WhatsApp and how people are targetted with ads after analysing their behavioural trends."Every silo of data, irrespective of privacy, has a value, we would like to examine, what is the rent sharing of data...we are concerned about how our behaviour is utlitsed and monetised for trends..You are using the data for the purpose of targeted online advertising," he said.
The court was hearing a plea regarding WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy, filed by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp LLC which challenged the judgement of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal which upheld a Rs 213.14 crore penalty imposed on its by the Competition Comission of India.
