Exit India If You Can’t Follow Law: Supreme Court Rebukes Meta Over WhatsApp Privacy Policy

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a sharp warning to tech giant Meta Platforms and its messaging service WhatsApp, raising serious concerns about user privacy and data sharing. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya cautioned the company against exploiting Indian citizens, stating that the court would not permit misuse of personal information.

The observations came during the hearing of a plea linked to WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy and the company law tribunal's decision to uphold a Rs 213 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India.

Court Signals Zero Tolerance On Privacy Violations

Reprimanding the company, the Chief Justice said, "You can't play with privacy... we will not allow you to share a single digit of our data", making it clear that citizens' rights must remain protected.

Appearing for the government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta criticised the policy as "exploitative" for allowing user data to be shared for commercial purposes. The Chief Justice added, "If you can't follow our Constitution, leave India. We won't allow citizens' privacy to be compromised."

The bench also questioned whether ordinary citizens could realistically understand the policy documents. "... a poor woman or a roadside vendor, or someone who only speaks Tamil... will they be able to understand?" the court asked.

Judges Question Accessibility Of Policy Language

Continuing its critique, the bench remarked, "Sometimes even we have difficulty understanding your policies..." After hearing about an 'opt out' clause, the court added, "... so how will people living in rural Bihar understand them? This is a way of committing theft of private information. We won't allow it."

To illustrate potential risks, the Chief Justice shared a personal example: "If a message is sent to a doctor on WhatsApp... that you are feeling under the weather... and the doctor sends some medicine prescriptions, immediately you start seeing ads..."

Meta Defends Encryption, Lawyers Respond

Representing Meta and WhatsApp, Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Akhil Sibal argued that all messages are protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning the companies cannot access the content of conversations.

However, the court continued to weigh concerns about how user data might still be utilised for advertising or other commercial activities.

What The Case Is About

In November 2024, the Competition Commission ruled that WhatsApp had leveraged its dominant market position to compel users to accept the updated privacy terms. Regulators objected to the platform informing users that continued access required consent for data sharing with other Meta services.

This led to the Rs 213 crore penalty, which Meta's counsel confirmed has already been deposited.

The companies challenged the order in January 2025. Later, in November 2025, the company law tribunal removed a five-year restriction on WhatsApp's data-sharing practices but retained the financial penalty, setting the stage for the ongoing legal battle.