'If You Can’t Follow, Then Leave India': Supreme Court's Stern Warning To Meta Over WhatsApp's Privacy Policy

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 3) issued a stern warning to WhatsApp and its parent company Meta over the messaging app’s privacy policy. Coming down heavily on the US-based company, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholisaid said that not a single word of data could be allowed to be shared.

"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. He added that the US-based company could leave India if it is unable to comply with the rules of the country.

The observation was made while hearing WhatsApp and Meta's appeals against a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order imposing a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore over the app's 2021 privacy policy.

WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy. The top court ordered that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology be made a party to the petitions.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the government, criticised the “exploitative” policy of the app for sharing user data for commercial purposes, reported NDTV.

Responding to the Solicitor General’s argument, the CJI said, “If you can’t follow our Constitution, then leave India. We won’t allow any citizen’s privacy to be compromised.”

The top court also asked the company if its policy could be understood by poor and uneducated people living in the country. "... a poor woman or a roadside vendor, or someone who only speaks Tamil... will they be able to understand?" the bench said.

The bench said the right to privacy is zealously guarded in the country and noted that the privacy terms are "so cleverly crafted" that a common person cannot understand them.

"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 CJI said.

The bench said that it would pass an interim order on February 9.