Supreme Court Rejects Facebook’s Plea to Dismiss CCI Probe Against WhatsApp

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the pleas by Meta Platforms, the mother or father firm of social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp, difficult the probe ordered by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into WhatsApp’s up to date privateness coverage of 2021.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and Sudhanshu Dhulia stated CCI is an impartial 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’ve heard the counsel. No interference of this court is required to be called for. The CCI is an independent authority to consider any violation of the provisions of the Competition Act of 2002. The CCI cannot be dissuaded from investigation and alleged violation of Competition Act, 2002,” the bench held.

Any remark made by the High Court ought to be thought of as tentative/prima facie, the bench stated.

The Delhi High Court had on September 28 dismissed a plea by Facebook India difficult the probe ordered by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into WhatsApp’s up to date privateness coverage of 2021.

Facebook India had approached the one decide bench after a division bench of the excessive court docket in August dismissed its impleadment software in a associated matter and granted it liberty to problem the CCI order by means of a separate writ petition.

The division bench had on August 25 dismissed the appeals of WhatsApp and Facebook towards a single decide’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 Facebook (now often known as Meta Platforms), had argued that the CCI has clubbed it in its ongoing investigation towards Facebook and WhatsApp though it has not fashioned any prima facie opinion towards it.

In April final 12 months, a single decide of the excessive court docket had refused to interdict the investigation directed by the CCI on the petitions by WhatsApp and Facebook — now Meta Platforms. In January final 12 months, the CCI had by itself determined to look into WhatsApp’s up to date privateness coverage primarily based on information stories. The anti-trust regulator had stated its investigation involved WhatsApp’s anti-competitive sharing of person knowledge with Facebook.

It additionally defended the initiation of a probe towards Facebook as effectively in reference to WhatsApp’s privateness coverage, saying the previous is the holding firm of the messaging platform and it could possibly probably exploit the information being shared.