An Indian tribunal temporarily suspended a five-year data sharing ban between WhatsApp and owner Meta Platform, a major relief for the US giant which had warned that its advertising business would be affected.
Meta had challenged the Competition Commission of India (CCI) directive issued in November that banned sharing of data between WhatsApp and other Meta entities for advertising purposes, warning that it would have to roll back certain features. May fall. Meta also criticized the CCI for not having the “technical expertise” to understand the impact of its order.
On Thursday, India’s National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ordered the suspension of the data sharing ban while it continues hearing Meta’s challenge to the antitrust ruling.
The tribunal said that the ban could destroy WhatsApp’s business model.
India is the largest market for META where there are over 350 million Facebook users and over 500 million people use WhatsApp.
Meta had earlier told the appeals tribunal that it may have to “withdraw or pause” some features, such as the one that would allow Indian fashion businesses to personalize ads on Facebook or Instagram based on their interaction with a WhatsApp user.
Facebook India Online Services, the registered unit of Facebook that sells ads in India, reported revenue of $351 million (about Rs 3,033 crore) in 2023-24, the highest in at least five years.
A spokesperson for Meta said it welcomed the decision and would “evaluate next steps.” The CCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision, although the watchdog can challenge the decision in the Supreme Court if it wishes.
In 2021, WhatsApp was accused of violating EU laws by failing to explain its policy changes in clear and understandable language. It later agreed to explain the changes to EU users.
The Indian case began in 2021 amid criticism of WhatsApp’s privacy policy changes. The CCI ruling in November found that WhatsApp’s policy induced users to accept the changes or risk losing access to the service.
Meta has argued that the changes were only to provide information about how optional commercial messaging features work and did not expand its data collection and sharing capabilities.
However, the watchdog ordered in November that WhatsApp should allow users to decide whether they want the messaging service to share data with Meta.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
