India's top court criticizes WhatsApp and Meta over privacy policy, demanding halt to data sharing for ads.

The "take it or leave it" consent model used by WhatsApp and Meta in their 2021 privacy policy has drawn harsh criticism from the Indian Supreme Court, which claims that it violates constitutional rights and is a "mockery of constitutionalism." The court, presided over by Chief Justice Surya Kant, cautioned that user data cannot be shared for advertising without real, meaningful consent, highlighting the fact that WhatsApp's dominant market position leaves users, particularly those with low levels of digital literacy, with little real choice. It denied assertions of successful opt-out procedures and required Meta to sign a legal commitment to stop sharing data for advertising, threatening to reject the appeal if it was not complied with. The Competition Commission of India levied a penalty of ₹213.14 crore for abuse of dominance, which the NCLAT partially upheld. The Union government has been permitted to participate in the proceedings, and the court will issue interim orders on February 9.