“You Can’t Play With Privacy”: Supreme Court Slams Meta Over WhatsApp Policy

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sharply criticised Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, over the messaging platform’s 2021 privacy policy, warning it against compromising the privacy of Indian users. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya said the court would not allow even a “single digit” of citizens’ data to be shared, calling the policy exploitative. The remarks came while hearing pleas related to the Competition Commission of India’s ₹213 crore penalty on WhatsApp, upheld by the company law tribunal. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the policy enabled commercial misuse of user data. The Chief Justice questioned whether ordinary citizens could understand the policy and warned Meta to comply with India’s constitutional framework or exit the country.