HC DISMISSES FB, WHATSAPP PLEAS AGAINST CCI PROBE ORDER

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Thursday dismissed pleas by social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp, challenging India’s competition regulator’s order directing a probe into WhatsApp’s new privacy policy.

Justice Navin Chawla said though it would have been “prudent” for the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to await the outcome of petitions in the Supreme Court and the Delhi HC against WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, but not doing so would not make the regulator’s order “perverse” or “wanting of jurisdiction”.

The court said it saw no merit in the petitions of Facebook and WhatsApp to interdict the investigation directed by the CCI. The CCI had contended that it was not examining the alleged violation of individuals’ privacy which was being looked into by the Supreme Court.

It had argued before the court that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp would lead to excessive data collection and “stalking” of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is therefore an alleged abuse of dominant position.

“There is no question of jurisdictional error,” it had contended and added that WhatsApp and Facebook’s pleas challenging its decision were “incompetent and misconceived”.

WhatsApp and Facebook had challenged the CCI’s March 24 order directing a probe into the new privacy policy.