Meta moves NCLAT, challenges ₹213-cr CCI penalty

According to Kapil Sibal, appearing for Meta, CCI’s point of ‘abusive practice has nothing to do with the data privacy policy of the platform’

by e4m Desk
Published: Sep 12, 2025 8:14 AM | 2 min read

Meta has contested a ₹213 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), arguing before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the order was “legally unsound and beyond the scope of competition law”, media networks have reported.

In November 2024, the CCI had held that Meta’s 2021 policy update—allowing data sharing across its platforms—amounted to abuse of dominance by denying market access to advertisers and leveraging its position in messaging to consolidate power.

Appearing for Meta, Kapil Sibal argued that the regulator exceeded its mandate by delving into privacy and data-sharing issues. “CCI has entrenched upon an aspect of the matter that has nothing to do with competition. Abusive practice has nothing to do with the data privacy policy of the platform,” Sibal said.

As per reports, he further said that the CCI failed to conduct an effect-based analysis or identify any specific anti-competitive practice.

In January this year, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) temporarily stayed the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) order that imposed a five-year ban on WhatsApp sharing user data with Meta for advertising purposes.

NCLAT past order

In November 2024, India’s antitrust regulator fined Meta approximately Rs 214 crore ($25.4 million) for abusing its market dominance through WhatsApp’s contentious 2021 privacy policy.

The penalty reflected concerns that the policy unfairly pushed users to share their data across Meta platforms, prioritising business and advertising goals over consumer privacy.

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