India: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal announced continuation of proceedings following WhatsApp and Meta Platforms appeal of order on penalty and data-sharing restrictions

On 12 September 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Principal Bench, New Delhi, announced the continuation of proceedings following appeals by WhatsApp and Meta Platforms against the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order of 18 November 2024. The CCI found Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, in violation of Section 4(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 for abuse of dominant position, imposed a penalty of INR 213.14 crore, and prohibited data sharing for advertising purposes for five years. On 23 January 2025, NCLAT granted interim relief by staying the five-year ban on data sharing for advertising while directing WhatsApp to disclose all purposes of data sharing, allow users to opt out of non-advertising data sharing, and deposit 50% of the penalty. At the 12 September hearing, submissions in Competition Appeal (AT) No. 1 of 2025 were ongoing. The Tribunal ordered both appeals to be listed together for further hearing.