WhatsApp Privacy Policy Tussle: Supreme Court Questions Data Exploitation in India

• The Supreme Court of India is scrutinizing WhatsApp and Meta over the messaging app's privacy policy and its alleged exploitation of user data for targeted ads.
• The case originated in 2021 when WhatsApp mandated users to accept a new privacy policy, threatening feature deprivation for non-compliance.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) previously argued in the Delhi High Court that WhatsApp's policy could lead to excessive data collection and 'stalking' for advertising, constituting an abuse of dominant position.
• Chief Justice Surya Kant warned WhatsApp to 'Quit India if you can’t follow the constitution,' emphasizing that no citizen's privacy will be compromised.
• WhatsApp defends its data collection as necessary for service provision and customization, stating messages are not typically stored on servers, though temporary storage occurs for undelivered messages or media forwards.

Why It Matters: WhatsApp faces intense scrutiny in India over its privacy policy and data sharing, with the Supreme Court asserting user privacy rights.