In a hearing in the Delhi High Court, WhatsApp and Facebook argued that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) jumped the gun by ordering an investigation into the WhatsApp new privacy policy and is overreaching its jurisdiction since the issue of privacy is already being dealt in a matter being heard by the Supreme Court.
The CCI however, argued that it was looking into the competition aspect and not the alleged violation of individuals' privacy. It also told the court that whether the data collection by WhatsApp and sharing it with Facebook would amount to an anti-competitive practice or abuse of dominant position can be determined only after the investigation.
India's competition regulator on March 24 had ordered a probe after it found that the messaging platform had violated the provisions of the competition act on abuse of dominance in the garb of policy update. The data-sharing policy seemed exploitative and could have exclusionary effects which have the potential to undermine the competitive process and create further barriers to market entry, the CCI had said in its order.
The CCI is being represented by senior advocate Aman Lekhi made the submission that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp would lead to excessive data collection and "stalking" of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is, therefore, an alleged abuse of dominant position. The matter is being heard by Justice Navin Chawla and WhatsApp and Facebook are represented by senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi.
"There is no question of jurisdictional error," Lekhi told the Court adding that WhatsApp and Facebook's pleas challenging the CCI's decision were "incompetent and misconceived".
Lekhi argued that the data collected, which would include an individual's location, the kind of device used, their internet service provider and whom they are conversing with, would lead to the creation of a customer profile and preference which would be monetised by way of targeted advertising and all this amounts to "stalking".
He also said that the investigation ordered was only an administrative proceeding that did not have any civil consequence at this stage.
The tech giants have argued that CCI should not have "jumped the gun" and intervened in the issue since the Apex court and the Delhi High Court were already looking into the privacy policy. They contended that CCI''s decision was an abuse of the commission's suo motu jurisdiction.
WhatsApp had deferred the policy update which was initially planned in February to May after an outrage by users who shifted to rival platforms. India has the largest market for WhatsApp with over 400 million subscribers however the company has maintained that privacy update which is for users of business services on its platform doesn't compromise its end to end encryption.
The CCI however, argued that it was looking into the competition aspect and not the alleged violation of individuals' privacy. It also told the court that whether the data collection by WhatsApp and sharing it with Facebook would amount to an anti-competitive practice or abuse of dominant position can be determined only after the investigation.
The Court has reserved the order in the hearing based on a petition filed by WhatsApp and its owner Facebook challenging the Competition Commission order directing an investigation into WhatsApp’s 2021 Privacy Policy.
India's competition regulator on March 24 had ordered a probe after it found that the messaging platform had violated the provisions of the competition act on abuse of dominance in the garb of policy update. The data-sharing policy seemed exploitative and could have exclusionary effects which have the potential to undermine the competitive process and create further barriers to market entry, the CCI had said in its order.
The CCI is being represented by senior advocate Aman Lekhi made the submission that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp would lead to excessive data collection and "stalking" of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is, therefore, an alleged abuse of dominant position. The matter is being heard by Justice Navin Chawla and WhatsApp and Facebook are represented by senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi.
"There is no question of jurisdictional error," Lekhi told the Court adding that WhatsApp and Facebook's pleas challenging the CCI's decision were "incompetent and misconceived".
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Lekhi argued that the data collected, which would include an individual's location, the kind of device used, their internet service provider and whom they are conversing with, would lead to the creation of a customer profile and preference which would be monetised by way of targeted advertising and all this amounts to "stalking".
He also said that the investigation ordered was only an administrative proceeding that did not have any civil consequence at this stage.
The tech giants have argued that CCI should not have "jumped the gun" and intervened in the issue since the Apex court and the Delhi High Court were already looking into the privacy policy. They contended that CCI''s decision was an abuse of the commission's suo motu jurisdiction.
WhatsApp had deferred the policy update which was initially planned in February to May after an outrage by users who shifted to rival platforms. India has the largest market for WhatsApp with over 400 million subscribers however the company has maintained that privacy update which is for users of business services on its platform doesn't compromise its end to end encryption.
