New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday pleas of Meta and WhatsApp against a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order imposing a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore over their privacy policy.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi is likely to hear the matter.

On February 3, the bench had made strong observations against Meta Platforms Inc and WhatsApp, saying they could not "play with the right to privacy of citizens in the name of data sharing" and alleged that they were creating a monopoly in the market and committing theft of private information of customers.

Decrying WhatsApp's privacy policy, the bench referred to "silent customers" who were unorganised, digitally dependent and unaware of the implications of data-sharing policies, and asserted, "We will not allow the rights of any citizen of this country to be damaged." WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms Inc.

The top court was hearing the appeals of the two tech giants against a CCI order that imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on them over the privacy policy.

On November 4, 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) set aside a section of a CCI order that had banned WhatsApp from sharing data with Meta Platforms Inc for advertising purposes for five years, but retained the Rs 213-crore penalty.

Later, the NCLAT clarified that its order in the WhatsApp matter on privacy and consent safeguards also applies to user data collection and sharing for non-WhatsApp purposes, including non-advertising and advertising.

The top court said that it would pass an interim order on February 9 and ordered that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology also be made a party to the appeals of the two companies.

The bench is also seized of a cross-appeal by the CCI, which assailed the NCLAT ruling to the extent that it allowed WhatsApp and Meta to continue sharing users' data for advertising purposes. PTI PKS SKY SKY

Data privacy: Appeals on platform data sharing penalty and consent safeguards to be heard, with government party added. Appeals challenge a CCI penalty and limits on platform data sharing under privacy and competition law; an appellate tribunal removed a ban on advertising related data sharing but retained the penalty. The dispute centers on consent standards, protection of dependent or unaware users, and whether platform data aggregation creates market dominance. Procedural issues include interim directions, inclusion of the technology ministry as a party, and a cross appeal by the regulator against the tribunal's narrowing of remedies.