The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on WhatsApp and its parent company Meta over alleged violations of citizens’ right to privacy, saying that private data of users cannot be exploited in the name of data sharing.
Hearing appeals filed by WhatsApp and Meta against an order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposing a penalty of of Rs 213.14 crore over WhatsApp’s “take it or leave it” privacy policy, the bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi questioned the very absence of a meaningful opt-out mechanism for users.
“Where is the question of opting out? This is a decent way of committing theft of private information,” the Supreme Court said underlining that citizens cannot be forced into unequal agreements with large technology companies.
The bench noted that the right to privacy is “so zealously guarded in this country” and expressed concern that privacy terms framed by tech giants are “so cleverly crafted that citizens will not understand” their true implications.
The court made it clear that it would not permit tech companies to share consumer data where users are subjected to unequal bargaining power, stressing that consent obtained under such circumstances cannot be considered free or informed.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court also made the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) a party to the case, indicating the wider policy implications involved in the matter.
The apex court said it would pass interim orders in the case on February 9.