Meta Platforms, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp, were dismissed on Friday by the Supreme Court, retaliating the Commission of India (CCI) for an investigation into WhatsApp''s new privacy policy in 2021.
CCI, according to a bench of Justices M R Shah and Sudhanshu Dhulia, is an independent authority, and the proceedings before it cannot be halted, and dropped petitions against the Delhi high court judgment allowing the Supreme Court to pursue the probe ordered by the country''s chief competition regulator.
"We''ve heard the counsel. No interference of this court is required to be called for. The CCI is an independent authority to investigate any violation of the Competition Act of 2002. The CCI cannot be dissuaded from an investigation and alleged violation of the Competition Act, 2002," the bench said.
The bench said that any suggestion from the High Court should be considered as tentative/prima facie.
Facebook India had rejected a complaint on September 28 about the Commission of India''s (CCI) probe into WhatsApp''s updated privacy policy.
The division''s bench had on August 25 dismissed the appeals of WhatsApp and Facebook against a single judge''s order, rejecting their rejection of the CCI''s investigation into the instant messaging platform''s privacy policy.
Facebook India, the Indian subsidiary of Facebook, which is now known as Meta Platforms, had argued that the CCI has suspended Facebook and WhatsApp in its ongoing investigation, even if it hasn''t given a prima facie opinion against it.
In April last year, a single judge of the Supreme Court denied interdicting the CCI''s inquiry on WhatsApp''s petitions now Meta Platforms. In January last year, the CCI had on its own examined WhatsApp''s improved privacy guidelines based on news reports. WhatsApp''s anti-competitive sharing of user data with Facebook
In connection with WhatsApp''s privacy policy, it supports the launch of a probe against Facebook, claiming that the former is the messaging platform''s holding company and that it may exploit the information being shared.