WhatsApp Update: Your privacy may be compromised if WhatsApp wins this case!
If you share everything from your heart to family issues on WhatsApp, then you need to be a little careful. It is possible that soon this data of yours will not remain private. Meta Platforms, the company that owns WhatsApp, has filed an appeal in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), if the company wins this case, then there can be a lot of changes in the privacy policy of WhatsApp.
WhatsApp updated its privacy policy in 2021. In this, WhatsApp had talked about sharing its data with other companies Meta for advertising purposes. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) then heard this. CCI admitted that WhatsApp has a strong position in the market. Therefore, it cannot take advantage of this and tamper with the user's data in this way in its privacy policy.
In view of this, on 18 November 2024, CCI banned Meta from sharing users' data with other companies for advertising on WhatsApp for 5 years. Whereas it had already imposed a fine of Rs 213 crore on WhatsApp for taking advantage of its strong position. Meta has filed an appeal in NCLAT against this fine, which will now be heard by NCLAT on January 16.
How will your privacy be affected if WhatsApp wins the case?
If Meta wins this case in NCLAT, then first of all the sword of a fine of Rs 213 crore hanging over it will be removed. Not only this, after this the way will be opened for Meta to share WhatsApp data with its other companies like Facebook and Instagram. Not only this, you can also see advertisements on Instagram and Facebook on WhatsApp. However, all this will happen only when NCLAT gives a verdict in favor of Meta.
It is also possible that NCLAT may only remove the fine of Rs 213 crore from Meta, or reduce the fine. At the same time, considering the concern about the privacy policy, it may accept the rest of the guidelines of CCI. This matter is now before a bench headed by NCLAT Chairperson Justice (Retired) Ashok Bhushan.
These things were said in CCI's guidelines
When CCI gave its verdict, it put its side on many aspects. For example, in India, a mandatory condition of sharing the data of users cannot be put in front of them to use WhatsApp's messaging service. Not only this, WhatsApp will have to give a detailed explanation of which user data is being shared with which company or product of Meta for what purpose.
According to a report in Mint, WhatsApp will also have to take the consent of the user to share the user's data. Not only India, in December 2021, the Data Protection Commissioner of Germany also temporarily banned Facebook from using WhatsApp's data. A similar ban was imposed by Ireland as well.
While WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy update explains how Facebook will store and use users' data, CCI found that WhatsApp has presented it to the users in such a way that they either accept it or leave WhatsApp. It called it an unfair way of doing business by WhatsApp.
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