India: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal issued order clarifying applicability of data sharing remedies for advertising purposes

On 15 December 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) issued an order clarifying that the remedial directions previously issued by the Competition Commission of India apply to WhatsApp's user data collection and sharing for all non-WhatsApp purposes, including both advertising and non-advertising purposes. The order applies to WhatsApp LLC and Meta Platforms concerning their practices of collecting and sharing user data from WhatsApp's messaging platform with other Meta companies. The NCLAT emphasised that WhatsApp must provide detailed explanations in its privacy policy about data shared with Meta companies, cannot make platform usage conditional upon consent to data sharing, must provide users with effective opt-out mechanisms with revocable consent, and must clearly inform users about data collection scope and purposes. The order reaffirmed findings that WhatsApp violated Sections 4(2)(a)(i) and 4(2)(c) of the Competition Act, 2002 on the prohibition of abuse of dominance through its 2021 Privacy Policy's approach and by creating market barriers for competitors in digital advertising. WhatsApp and Meta have been granted three months from 15 December 2025 to implement the necessary changes to comply with the clarified remedial directions.