WhatsApp and Facebook have both petitioned the Delhi High Court to dismiss the Competition Commission Of India (CCI) order that had called for an investigation into WhatsApp’s privacy policy update. The competition watchdog stated on March 24 that the probe had to be completed in 60 days.
The petitions, seen and reviewed by Inc42, although filed separately by Facebook and WhatsApp, are broadly similar. Both companies contend that cases regarding the privacy policy update are already being heard in the Supreme Court and the CCI should be restrained from any probe until those cases are resolved.
Interestingly, Facebook claimed that it shouldn’t be investigated since its social media business and the WhatsApp messaging platform are different entities. But at the same time, it also asserted that the competition watchdog should present evidence of WhatsApp’s dominance before being allowed to investigate.
“Today’s consumers value non-price parameters of services viz. quality, customer service, innovation, etc. as equally if not more important as price. The competitors in the market also compete on the basis of such non-price parameters. Reduction in consumer data protection and loss of control over their personalised data by the users can be taken as reduction in quality under the antitrust law,” stated the CCI order in late March.
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