In a major blow to WhatsApp, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped a penalty of INR 213.14 Cr on its parent Meta.

The Competition Commission of India has accused Meta-owned WhatsApp of abusing its dominant market position in its 2021 privacy update. Here's all you need to know

In January 2021, WhatsApp had notified users that it was updating its privacy policy – which was mandatory for them to accept – with an expanded scope of data collection and data sharing between Meta companies.

The CCI has also forbidden WhatsApp from making user data sharing with Meta companies a precondition for accessing WhatsApp services in India.

India's Competition Commission (CCI) has fined Meta INR 213.14 crore for abusing its market dominance through WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy update

Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it plans to appeal an order by India's competition watchdog that restricts the U.S. tech firm from sharing data for advertising between WhatsApp and its other applications and also imposed a $25.

The investigation revealed that WhatsApp compelled users to share data with Meta’s family of companies, including Facebook and Instagram, without offering an opt-out option.

India's Competition Commission has ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with other Meta apps for five years.

According to the CCI order, “The 2021 policy update by WhatsApp on a ‘take it-or-leave-it’ basis constitutes an imposition of unfair conditions under the Act, as it compels all users to accept expanded data collection terms and sharing of data within Meta Group without any opt-out.”

Meta defends WhatsApp's privacy policy update. The spokesperson clarified that the 2021 update didn't change the privacy of people's personal messages. They stressed it was pitche

India's competition watchdog directed WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data for advertising purposes with other applications owned by Meta for a period of five years and fined the U.S. tech giant $25.