Privacy Policy: Shock To WhatsApp And Facebook From Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday gave a big blow to social media firms WhatsApp and Facebook regarding their new privacy policy. The Supreme Court has said that the investigation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) regarding the new privacy policy of Meta-owned WhatsApp and Facebook will continue.

In fact, these social media companies had sought a stay on the passing of the order by the CCI citing the pending hearing in the Supreme Court regarding the validity of the new privacy policy. During the hearing, the Supreme Court said that the Competition Commission of India CCI is an independent body and that its investigation for violation of the Competition Act cannot be stopped.

Two students have also filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the new privacy policy of WhatsApp, whose hearing has been adjourned till January 17, 2023. These students say that sharing calls, photos, texts, videos, and documents shared by users with any other company is a violation of their privacy and free speech. Social media companies should not be arbitrary regarding the personal data of the user.

WhatsApp released a privacy policy in the year 2021, which has been designed keeping in mind its parent company Facebook. Under the new privacy, WhatsApp data can be shared with Facebook, Instagram, and partner companies. However, WhatsApp also said that the new policy is only for business accounts. Under the new policy, the data of WhatsApp payment will also be shared with Facebook i.e. it will contain information from payment to the transaction.