_1660123967105_1661510742682_1661510742682.jpg "Delhi High Court said WhatsApp occupies a dominant position in the relevant product market and that there exists a strong lock-in effect which renders its users incapable of shifting to another platform.")
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The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed the appeals of WhatsApp and Facebook challenging a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order calling for an investigation into the messaging apps' new privacy policy, noting the policy places its users in a "take-it-or-leave-it" situation. The new WhatsApp privacy policy virtually forces its users into agreement by providing a mirage of choice, and then proceeding to share their sensitive data with Facebook companies envisaged in the policy, the court said, according to ANI report.
The Delhi High Court bench comprising of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad in its detail judgement said that “the Court finds merit in the submission of the ASGs appeared for CCI that one of the key issues with the 2021 Policy is its propensity to share the data of its users with Facebook Inc., the parent company of WhatsApp. Solely for the reason that the policies itself do not emanate out of Facebook Inc., the Appellant cannot hide behind the fact that it is the direct and immediate beneficiary of the data sharing mechanism envisaged by the policies."
Additionally, the Delhi High Court stated that “it is not in dispute that WhatsApp occupies a dominant position in the relevant product market and that there exists a strong lock-in effect which renders its users incapable of shifting to another platform despite dissatisfaction with the product - as is exemplified by how, despite an increase in the downloads of Telegram and Signal when the 2021 Policy was announced, the number of users of WhatsApp have remained unchanged."
To ensure retention of its user base and to prevent any other disruptive technology from entering the market, data is utilised by tech companies to customise and personalise their own platforms so that its user base remains hooked and when data concentration is seen through this prism, it does give meaning to the new adage that "data is the new oil", and, as noted in the CCI Order dated March 24, 2021, it raises competition concerns because it prima facie amounts to imposition of unfair terms and conditions upon its users, thereby violating Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Act, the report said.
Notably, Facebook and WhatsApp said that since the issue of WhatsApp's privacy policy is being heard by the Supreme Court, and High Court, therefore, there was no requirement for CCI to order the probe, ANI report said.
(With inputs from ANI)