Meta Platforms has moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to contest a Rs. 213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in relation to WhatsApp’s contentious 2021 privacy policy update.

The appeal was filed yesterday, with Meta arguing that the CCI‘s order has significant implications for the tech industry and warrants urgent judicial review, an IANS report stated.

The controversy centers on WhatsApp’s 2021 policy update, which the CCI deemed unfair. According to the regulator, the update forced users to accept expanded data-sharing terms with Meta’s other services, such as Facebook and Instagram, without providing an opt-out option. The CCI categorized this as an abuse of WhatsApp’s dominant market position under the Competition Act.

In its November 2024 ruling, the CCI not only imposed the financial penalty but also barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with other Meta entities for advertising purposes for five years. WhatsApp, with over 500 million active users in India, has maintained that it disagrees with the CCI’s findings and intends to pursue all available legal remedies.