Indian Antitrust Body Investigating WhatsApp For Its Privacy Policy Change
It is important to note that as per WhatsApp¡¯s clarifications, the 2021 update doesn't widen the ability to share data with Facebook and instead the update promises to offer more transparency on its data collection and sharing habits.
Indian fair-trade regulator has asked its investigation division to look up WhatsApp¡¯s privacy policy and terms of service on the basis that the messaging app has violated competitive laws through its ¡®exploitative and exclusionary¡¯ practices under the garb of the policy update.
PA
Reported first by PTI, the regulator has stated that this would require a thorough investigation to understand the extent of the impact of these privacy policies that are taken through involuntary consent of its users.
The regulator has asked for the investigation division as well as its director-general to complete the WhatsApp investigation and submit a report in a matter of two months (60 days).
This action came after WhatsApp forced its users to mandatorily accept its new terms and policies that subjected their data to be shared with the parent company, Facebook and its other companies.
It said in a statement, "The Commission is of prima facie opinion that the 'take-it-or-leave-it nature of privacy policy and terms of service of WhatsApp and the information sharing stipulations mentioned therein merit a detailed investigation in view of the market position and market power enjoyed by WhatsApp."
However, it is important to note that as per WhatsApp¡¯s clarifications, the 2021 update doesn't widen the ability to share data with Facebook and instead the update promises to offer more transparency on its data collection and sharing habits.
CCI, however, has stated that the legitimacy of these claims will be determined by the examinations and investigation that will be conducted by the director-general. It has also stated that users who are the owner of their data are entitled to be informed about the extent, scope and purpose of sharing their information with other Facebook verticals.
WhatsApp
It added, "However, it appears from the Privacy Policy as well as Terms of Service (including the FAQs published by WhatsApp), that many of the information categories described therein are too broad, vague and unintelligible."
It also highlights that there is no clarity on the fact that previous data too will be shared with Facebook or whether it¡¯ll just be the data going forward, after the privacy policy update. It highlights that sharing of personal data of users in a non-transparent manner and neither based on voluntary or specific user consent appears ¡°unfair to users¡±.