US tech giant Meta Platforms says it plans to challenge an order by India’s competition watchdog that seeks to stop the group from sharing data accumulated by WhatsApp.
The company said on Tuesday it will appeal the order that restricts the it from sharing data for advertising between WhatsApp and its other applications, such as Facebook.
The Competition Commission of India imposed a $25.4 million fine on Monday and said in its order that restrictions on data sharing would be placed for five years.
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The Commission began an investigation into WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy in March of that year. The policy allowed data sharing between Meta and its units, sparking a global backlash.
“Sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies… for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp service shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp Service in India,” the CCI said on Monday.
A spokesperson for Meta said on Tuesday that the 2021 update did not change the privacy of people’s personal messages.
“We also ensured no one would have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of the WhatsApp service because of this update,” the spokesperson said.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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