The Supreme Court of India has issued a notice to Meta regarding a proposed five-year ban on advertisements on WhatsApp, following a recommendation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
The Supreme Court was hearing appeals filed by WhatsApp and its parent, Meta Platforms, challenging the ruling of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The tribunal had upheld a penalty of Rs 2.13 billion imposed by the CCI in connection with WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy.
In November 2025, the NCLAT partly upheld the findings of the CCI that WhatsApp had abused its dominant position. However, it set aside the direction that barred the Meta Platforms owned platform from sharing user data with other Meta companies for advertising purposes.
WhatsApp has submitted an affidavit detailing its operations. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on April 19, 2026. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court warned WhatsApp and Meta against sharing users’ private data for targeted advertising. The court stated that it would not permit any infringement of the right to privacy of millions of users in India through the sharing and commercial use of personal data.
