WHATSAPP LLC Vs. COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions have been filed challenging the order dated 24.03.2021 passed by the respondent no.1 under Section 26(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'), forming a prima facie opinion of the violation of Section 4 of the Act by the petitioners, and directing the Director General of the respondent no.1 to cause an investigation to be made into the WhatsApp 2021 Update to its Terms and Privacy Policy.

(2.) The petitioner in W.P.(C) No.4378/2021 is providing software based application for sending and receiving variety of media texts, photos and videos, calls etc. by using the internet. It was acquired by the respondent no.2 (petitioner in W.P.(C) No.4407/2021) in the year 2014. It is claimed that WhatsApp is used by more than a billion users throughout the world and over 400 million users in India.

(3.) It is stated that prior to 25.08.2016, the Agreement between WhatsApp and its users was governed by the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy dated July, 2012. On 25.08.2016, WhatsApp updated its Terms and Services of Privacy Policy (hereinafter referred to as the '2016 Update'). It is claimed that WhatsApp users prior to the 2016 Update were given a one-time opportunity to 'opt-out' of Facebook using their WhatsApp account information. The users who joined WhatsApp after the release of 2016 Update, however, were not offered this 'opt-out' option.