NEW DELHI, FEB 3: To protect digital rights, the Supreme Court on Tuesday criticized Meta and WhatsApp for their data handling practices, indicating that an interim order will be delivered on February 9.
The apex court was reviewing a challenge against an NCLAT decision that upheld a multi-crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India. The bench remarked that the right to privacy in India is a protected interest that cannot be circumvented through intricate corporate policies.
During the session, the bench noted that the language used in privacy agreements is often designed to confuse the public. The Chief Justice remarked that the court would demand a formal undertaking from the companies to prevent unauthorized data sharing.
“You can’t play with the right of privacy of this country in the name of data sharing. We will not allow you to share a single word of the data, either you give an undertaking…you cannot violate the right of privacy of citizens,” the CJI said.
The court has also mandated the inclusion of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in the petitions to ensure a comprehensive review of the privacy framework. The judges stated that the current system of data collection needs immediate oversight to prevent the misuse of personal details.
Regarding the legal necessity for transparency, the CJI said, “This is a decent way of committing theft of private information, we will not allow you to do that… You have to give an undertaking otherwise, we have to pass an order.”
The case stems from findings that the companies used their market dominance to enforce privacy updates that the competition regulator deemed unfair to the Indian consumer base.
