New Delhi, February 3, 2026, 20:42 (IST)
On Tuesday, India’s highest court threatened to reinstate a ban on WhatsApp, owned by Meta, for sharing user data with its affiliated companies. Chief Justice Surya Kant described WhatsApp’s privacy policy as “very cleverly designed to mislead users,” two lawyers attending the hearing reported. (Reuters)
The bench directed Meta and WhatsApp to submit an affidavit clearly stating that user data won’t be shared for advertising purposes and warned it might intervene if they fail to comply. It set a deadline, scheduling the next hearing for Feb. 9, and brought the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology into the case. (mint)
Judges pressed on what they termed “hidden charges” behind a free service: the worth of user behavior data funneled into online ad systems. Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted the court’s focus on metadata — details about how users engage with the service, not the message content — and how that information is turned into profit. (The Indian Express)
The issue traces back to a November 2024 ruling by the Competition Commission of India, which slapped WhatsApp and Meta with a ₹213.14 crore ($25.4 million) fine and banned data sharing with Meta subsidiaries for five years. DataReportal puts Facebook’s user count in India at 403 million, Instagram at 481 million. WhatsApp admits to sharing phone numbers, transaction details, business interactions, and device info with Meta, but regulators argue users had no option to opt out. In 2023, Meta agreed to clarify privacy policy tweaks in the EU after accusations of opacity. (CNA)
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, labeled the policy as “exploitative” when it comes to using personal data for commercial gains. The chief justice fired back: “If you can’t follow our Constitution, leave India. We won’t let citizens’ privacy be compromised.” (Ndtv)
Meta and WhatsApp’s legal team stressed that message content is shielded by end-to-end encryption, so only the sender and receiver can access chats. Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Akhil Sibal informed the court that the penalty has been paid, noting that a previous tribunal order had already set limits on data sharing — a claim disputed by the regulator’s counsel. (Live Law)
WhatsApp counts over 500 million users in India, raising the stakes for any court-mandated restrictions on data sharing. (TechCrunch)
WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy-policy overhaul sparked the controversy by forcing users into a stark choice: agree to the new terms or delete their account. There was no genuine opt-out when it came to sharing data. (India Today)
The Supreme Court hasn’t made a ruling yet. The next hearing, set for Feb. 9, will focus on whether Meta and WhatsApp are prepared to set written limits while the appeal proceeds. The bench made it clear the appeals might be tossed out if there’s no formal commitment on data sharing. A more limited interim restriction wouldn’t force WhatsApp to shut down but could curb how Meta connects user data across its platforms for ads and future policies. (Scobserver)
