The Supreme Courtroom on Friday dismissed the pleas by Meta Platforms, the guardian firm of social media platforms Fb and WhatsApp, difficult the probe ordered by the Competitors Fee of India (CCI) into WhatsApp’s up to date privateness coverage of 2021.
A bench of Justices M R Shah and Sudhanshu Dhulia mentioned CCI is an unbiased authority and the proceedings earlier than it can’t be stopped, and junked the petitions towards the Delhi excessive court docket judgment upholding the probe ordered by the chief nationwide competitors regulator.
“We have heard the counsel. No interference of this court docket is required to be referred to as for. The CCI is an unbiased authority to think about any violation of the provisions of the Competitors Act of 2002. The CCI can’t be dissuaded from investigation and alleged violation of Competitors Act, 2002,” the bench held.
Any remark made by the Excessive Courtroom must be thought-about as tentative/prima facie, the bench mentioned.
The Delhi Excessive Courtroom had on September 28 dismissed a plea by Facebook India difficult the probe ordered by the Competitors Fee of India (CCI) into WhatsApp‘s up to date privateness coverage of 2021.
Fb India had approached the only choose bench after a division bench of the excessive court docket in August dismissed its impleadment utility in a associated matter and granted it liberty to problem the CCI order by the use of a separate writ petition.
The division bench had on August 25 dismissed the appeals of WhatsApp and Fb towards a single choose’s order rejecting their problem to the probe ordered by the CCI into the moment messaging platform’s up to date privateness coverage.
Facebook India, the Indian subsidiary of US-based Fb (now generally known as Meta Platforms), had argued that the CCI has clubbed it in its ongoing investigation towards Fb and WhatsApp despite the fact that it has not shaped any prima facie opinion towards it.
In April final yr, a single choose of the excessive court docket had refused to interdict the investigation directed by the CCI on the petitions by WhatsApp and Fb — now Meta Platforms. In January final yr, the CCI had by itself determined to look into WhatsApp’s up to date privateness coverage primarily based on information experiences. The anti-trust regulator had mentioned its investigation involved WhatsApp’s anti-competitive sharing of person knowledge with Fb.
It additionally defended the initiation of a probe towards Fb as nicely in reference to WhatsApp’s privateness coverage, saying the previous is the holding firm of the messaging platform and it may well probably exploit the info being shared.
