NCLAT orders WhatsApp to seek clear user consent before sharing any data with Meta, reinforcing transparency and user control. The platform now has three months to update its privacy and compliance mechanisms.
Published: December 16, 2025 3:08 PM IST
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has instructed WhatsApp to seek specific consent from users before sharing their data with its parent company Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta).
The NCLAT passed the order in response to a request for clarification made by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) last week. The NCLAT sought to dispel any ambiguity surrounding its November 4 judgment that said WhatsApp is required to obtain consent for data sharing.
CCI called for the order to clarify the scope of the NCLAT’s judgment on November 4. The tribunal’s November 4 order had said WhatsApp must not claim unilateral or open-ended rights over users’ data. It further stated that the company cannot collect non-essential information from consumers for advertising or other non-WhatsApp purposes without prior specific and revocable consent.
Reinstating the elements of choice and transparency
NCLAT also clarified that users must be given a choice and specific options to exercise their choice in WhatsApp’s consent framework. The company must also clearly explain to users what data will be shared, with whom and for what purposes. The explanation of choice must be clear to a user of average understanding and must also be made available in simple, vernacular language. Users must be able to modify or withdraw consent at any time.
WhatsApp to be in compliance in 3 months
WhatsApp has been given three months to be in compliance with the NCLAT order. It must ensure that the necessary information is presented in a manner that is not confusing to the user and that such choice is in accordance with the provisions of competition law as well as India’s data protection norms. The notification also mentioned that users should be able to opt-in or opt-out of any particular purpose or category of data sharing, while giving a clear explanation of what data will be shared, with whom and for what purpose.
WhatsApp 2021 privacy policy controversy
The instant case originates from an investigation by the CCI in 2024. The CCI had held in 2024 that WhatsApp’s ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ policy is a clear case of an abuse of dominance in the over-the-top (OTT) messaging services segment. As per the CCI, WhatsApp by making sharing of data as a non-negotiable feature of the messaging app is, in effect, forcing users to accept its new terms. The CCI found that this was a serious concern, especially in light of recent reports around deepening privacy intrusions by Meta. Meta and WhatsApp had been ordered to pay a fine of ₹213.14 crore. The CCI imposed several remedial orders including a choice-based consent framework and clearer explanations on data sharing in plain and simple language.
The NCLAT order on November 4, 2023, had partly set aside the CCI’s order. The NCLAT order had struck down the blanket five-year ban on WhatsApp’s sharing of data with Meta for advertising purposes. The tribunal observed that such a complete ban would hamper WhatsApp’s ability to generate revenue, which is not in the interest of consumers. However, it left open the question of whether specific and revocable consent also applied to data sharing for advertising and other non-WhatsApp purposes. The NCLAT sought to clear the air around these concerns in its clarification order.
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