Meta, the company behind WhatsApp and Facebook, might have to take back or slow down some of its features in India. This is because a court in India told Meta that WhatsApp cannot share user data with the company for advertising, claiming it was unfair.
The Indian Competition Commission (CCI) fined Meta $24.5 million and has banned this data sharing for five years. This is a big deal for Meta as India is its largest market, with over 350 million Facebook users and more than 500 million WhatsApp users.
Meta is fighting this decision and argues that the CCI’s rules are too strict. They say that without sharing data from WhatsApp, businesses in India may not be able to create personalized ads on Facebook or Instagram based on how users interact with them on WhatsApp.
Meta’s documents show that they are worried this ban will affect their ability to stay competitive. They believe that if they have to follow these new rules, they might need to pause or take away some features from users.
In 2023-24, the part of Facebook based in India earned $351 million, which is the highest it has been in five years. The Indian appeals court will soon hear Meta’s case. If the case takes a long time, the court can pause the CCI’s order for now.
This isn’t just a problem in India. In 2021, WhatsApp also faced criticism and accusations from the European Union (EU) for not explaining its policy changes properly.
The CCI stated that WhatsApp pressured users into accepting its new privacy policy, which did not give people a choice to opt out. Meta says they only aimed to explain how certain business features worked, but the CCI disagreed.
The CCI has now ordered WhatsApp to let users decide if they want their data shared with Meta. Meta also argues that the CCI should have consulted them before making such rules, saying that the commission doesn’t have enough technical knowledge to understand how these changes would work.
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