Social media platform, WhatsApp, agrees to implement a user consent framework for sharing data with other Meta entities, backing down from its challenge to compliance directions issued by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

The Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M, recorded the commitment. Pancholi. The court allowed WhatsApp and Meta to withdraw interim pleas that had sought to pause enforcement of the NCLAT’s directions.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the companies, informed the court that WhatsApp has filed an affidavit detailing its data-sharing architecture and will implement the user-choice framework by 5 March in accordance with the appellate tribunal’s directions. The court dismissed the interim applications as withdrawn and directed the company to file a compliance report with the Competition Commission of India. The main appeal challenging the 2021 privacy policy remains pending.

The case originated from WhatsApp’s 2021 policy update that required users to accept revised data-sharing terms to continue using the service. The update removed previous opt-out provisions that had allowed users to limit data sharing with Facebook, which has since become Meta, triggering regulatory scrutiny.

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In November 2024, the CCI ruled that the policy change constituted abuse of dominance under the Competition Act, 2002. The commission imposed a penalty of ₹213.14 crore and ordered WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data with Meta companies for advertising purposes for five years.

The NCLAT subsequently struck down certain findings related to Meta’s alleged leveraging of dominance in the online display advertising market but upheld the monetary penalty on WhatsApp and affirmed key compliance obligations. WhatsApp will implement the appellate tribunal’s consent-based data-sharing framework after undertaking to do so before the Supreme Court.

The five-year prohibition on sharing WhatsApp user data with Meta entities for advertising remains under judicial consideration. During earlier hearings, the Supreme Court had expressed concern over the platform’s approach to user consent, suggesting that the model could amount to coerced consent for users, particularly businesses dependent on the messaging service.

A final ruling could establish how dominant digital platforms must structure cross-service data integration and consent management, with implications for targeted advertising, competition law enforcement and the broader digital economy.

Although no date has been set, the court intends to hear WhatsApp’s substantive appeal at a later sitting. For now, Indian users can anticipate new consent mechanisms appearing in the application by early March as WhatsApp works to meet the court-mandated deadline.