Privacy Policy: Delhi High Court Adjourns Whatsapp's Appeal Against CCI Investigation Citing Pendency Of Data Protection Bill

The Delhi High Court today adjourned hearing of the appeals filed by WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook Inc. (now Meta) against a single bench order declining to interfere with CCI's investigation into WhatsApp's new privacy policy.

Noting that the Data Protection Bill has been tabled before the Parliament and is pending consideration, the Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh adjourned the matter to March 30.

Meanwhile, time to respond to the notices issued by the Competition Commission of India has also been extended. 

The Competition Commission of India had ordered a probe into the new privacy policy of WhatsApp after making a prima facie observation that it was violative of the Competition Act 2000.

Senior Advocate Harish Salve appearing for WhatsApp submitted that the matter was kept back since other privacy matters were pending. Meanwhile, stay on the CCI notices was granted which was extended till October 11. However, since the matter could not be taken up thereafter, the stay could not be extended.

Salve pointed out that the Data Protection Bill has been tabled in the Parliament and urged that the interim stay be extended.

ASG Aman Lekhi on the other hand, appearing for CCI, submitted that Data Protection Bill is "irrelevant" to this controversy. He argued that the case does not deal with 'privacy' but with Sections 4 (Abuse of dominant position) and 19 (Inquiry into certain agreements and dominant position of enterprise) of the Competition Act, 2002.

He further argued that WhatsApp is obligated to respond to the notices not only under the Competition Act but also since the Court has declined to extend the interim orders after October 11.

"There is no question of Court declining stay when the matters were not even taken up," Salve responded.

After hearing both the sides, the hearing was deferred till March.

Case Title: WhatsApp v. CCI