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'Exit India': SC warns Meta over WhatsApp's privacy policy
03 Feb 2026

The Supreme Court of India has issued a strong warning to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, over its data privacy practices.

Chief Justice Surya Kant reprimanded the company saying, "You can't play with privacy of our country... we will not allow you to share a single digit of our data," adding that it could leave India if the laws are not followed.

The decision comes amid growing concerns over user privacy and data security in the digital era.

Court slams Meta's 2021 privacy policy
Policy scrutiny

The Supreme Court has also taken a dim view of Meta's 2021 privacy policy for WhatsApp, which allows user data sharing for advertising purposes.

A bench led by Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said any continued data sharing under this policy would not be tolerated.

The court has asked Meta to file an affidavit stating it won't share WhatsApp user data for ads, failing which its case could be dismissed.

'Policy language not understandable for ordinary people'
User understanding

The Supreme Court has also slammed Meta for the way it framed its opt-in and opt-out choices for users.

The bench observed that the policy language was not understandable for ordinary people.

"The language of your policy is such that an ordinary user cannot understand it," said the court, adding that the terms appeared to be "very cleverly crafted."

Meta given week to file affidavit
Affidavit submission

The Supreme Court has given Meta a week to file the affidavit and said it will hear the matter again next week before passing further orders.

The warning comes as the long-running dispute over WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy reached the apex court after being examined by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

WhatsApp penalized by CCI over data sharing
Legal battle

Meta and WhatsApp have challenged the ₹213.14 crore penalty imposed by the CCI, which found them guilty of abusing their dominant position in the messaging market.

The CCI said that WhatsApp forced users to accept its 2021 privacy policy on a "take-it-or-leave-it" basis, under which they had to agree to expanded data sharing with Meta companies to continue using the service.