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WhatsApp has now become an important part of our lives. This platform, which was once used only for text, is now also used for calling and payments. The second big thing is that this platform is free, and also promises to remain free forever. But do you know that it is free only in name, in reality every user has to pay a price for it. If you do not know about this, then you should read the decision of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that came yesterday. You should understand the nuances of this decision.

CCI has imposed a fine of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta (WhatsApp's parent company). It is alleged that it has abused its dominance. Mark Zuckerberg's company Meta, however, plans to appeal further in this regard. A representative of Meta told Moneycontrol "We disagree with the CCI's decision ... We are committed to finding a way forward that allows us to continue to provide people and businesses with the experience they expect from us." Let's talk about the policy that WhatsApp implemented on 8 February 2021. What was there in that policy due to which the privacy of users was at risk? In the context of the concerns of the users, the gist of the entire policy is as follows-

In the new policy, users were forced to accept the condition of sharing their data with Facebook (Meta), otherwise, they would have to stop using WhatsApp. In the earlier policy (2016), doing so was optional, meaning the user could accept it or not. WhatsApp's "take it or leave it" policy reduced the right of users to consent.

In countries like India, where data protection laws are not very strict, this policy made users more vulnerable. Chats done on business accounts will not be kept completely end-to-end encrypted. If these chats are hosted on Meta's server, then the risk of data being misused or stolen increases.

Users in Europe got some relief due to the data protection law (GDPR), but it was not strictly followed in India and other countries. Meaning there was no uniformity in the policy in different areas. In such a situation, people started losing trust in WhatsApp.

Many users even had the misconception that their chats would also be shared with WhatsApp. Due to this, millions of people thought it better to leave WhatsApp and shift to apps like Signal and Telegram. Telegram's popularity increased in India.

Is WhatsApp free?

Although WhatsApp claims to keep its users' data safe, there are some ways through which it also earns money by using data. Companies communicate with customers through the WhatsApp Business Application. Customer data can be used in this process.

Although WhatsApp does not show advertisements directly, its parent company Meta (Facebook) uses users' data for targeting to show advertisements. This means that if you talk to someone on WhatsApp about buying furniture, then after reading this data, you will see advertisements for furniture from the company. These advertisements do not come on WhatsApp, but you can see them on Facebook and its other platforms. This means that the company is actually 'earning' by using your data.

What else is there in CCI's decision?

CCI imposes a monetary penalty of ₹213.14 crore on Meta for the 2021 Privacy Policy Update, along with a cease-and-desist direction and specific behavioral remedies. pic.twitter.com/JUNCHP9oF0

— CCI (@CCI_India) November 18, 2024

– The Competition Commission of India imposed a fine of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta (WhatsApp’s parent company).

– The CCI also issued cease directions in its decision.

– Directed Meta and WhatsApp to implement certain behavioral measures within a specified time frame.