The Supreme Court on Tuesday strongly criticised Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, over the messaging platform’s privacy policy. The court made it clear that it would not allow the misuse or sharing of Indian users’ data.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya reprimanded the US-based tech company, saying, “You can't play with privacy... we will not allow you to share a single digit of our data”, and added that exploitation of Indian citizens would not be tolerated.

The court was hearing a case related to WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy and a ₹213 crore penalty imposed on the company by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Case linked to 2021 WhatsApp policy

The matter reached the Supreme Court after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal upheld the fine imposed by the CCI on WhatsApp. The regulator had found issues with the company’s updated privacy policy.

There was also a cross-appeal by the CCI regarding WhatsApp’s sharing of user data for advertising purposes. The tribunal allowed data-sharing after ruling that there was no “abuse of power” by the company, while still keeping the penalty in place.

Appearing for the government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta criticised the policy and called it “exploitative” for allowing data sharing for commercial use.

Responding sharply, the Chief Justice said, “If you can't follow our Constitution, leave India. We won't allow citizens' privacy to be compromised.”

The court also questioned whether the privacy policy could be understood by ordinary people.

“... a poor woman or a roadside vendor, or someone who only speaks Tamil... will they be able to understand?” the bench asked.

The judges further remarked, “Sometimes even we have difficulty understanding your policies...” and added, “… so how will people living in rural Bihar understand them? This is a way of committing theft of private information. We won't allow it.”

To explain the concern, the Chief Justice gave a personal example.

“If a message is sent to a doctor on WhatsApp... that you are feeling under the weather... and the doctor sends some medicine prescriptions, immediately you start seeing ads...” he said, pointing to how personal data may be linked to advertising.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Akhil Sibal, appearing for Meta and WhatsApp, defended the company. They told the court that all WhatsApp messages are “end-to-end encrypted”, meaning even the company cannot read users’ messages.

Background of dispute

In November 2024, the CCI ruled that WhatsApp was using its dominant market position to force users to accept the 2021 privacy policy. The regulator objected to WhatsApp making data-sharing with other Meta platforms mandatory for continued use of its services.

This led to the ₹213 crore fine, which Meta’s lawyers informed the court had already been paid.

Meta and WhatsApp challenged the order in January 2025. Later, in November 2025, the tribunal lifted a five-year ban on WhatsApp sharing user data, while still keeping the financial penalty intact.

The case continues to raise important questions about user privacy, data protection, and the responsibility of global tech companies operating in India.