NCLAT postpones hearing on Meta's ₹213 crore penalty

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has delayed its hearing on a ₹213 crore penalty imposed on Meta. This penalty was ordered by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for what they called an abuse of dominance. Along with the penalty, CCI had stopped WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for five years. Meta and WhatsApp are appealing this decision. In January 2025, NCLAT partially suspended both the financial penalty and the data-sharing restriction. NCLAT chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan stated that they would wait to see if the government introduces new Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules. Meta mentioned that these rules may be announced by mid-2025, which could influence the case. The tribunal agreed that the new rules might affect the outcome of the appeal, so they decided to postpone discussions. Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing Meta, said the government is already working on these new rules and could provide updates. However, CCI's lawyer argued this request for a delay was unfair. They believe it would allow Meta and WhatsApp to benefit from the interim stay on the five-year ban. The case stems from WhatsApp's change in terms of service in January 2021. Users were required to accept new data collection and sharing rules to continue using the app. CCI found this unfair and imposed the penalty on Meta last November. NCLAT is expected to revisit the case on May 13.