CCI can't investigate Facebook while conducting probe into WhatsApp's privacy policy: Facebook to Delhi High Court

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) cannot start investigating Facebook while conducting its probe into WhatsApp’s privacy policy, Facebook argued before the Delhi High Court on Friday [WhatsApp LLC v. Competition Commission of India]. .The submission was made by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Facebook (now Meta Platforms), before a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad.The bench was hearing appeals by WhatsApp and Facebook challenging the single-judge’s order which had refused to stay the CCI probe into WhatsApp’s privacy policy introduced in 2021..Rohatgi said that WhatsApp and Facebook are two different entities. Just because Facebook is WhatsApp’s formal owner and the messaging platform is said to share its data with the parent company doesn’t mean that it is a necessary party to the probe, he said. “The fact that WhatsApp can share items with certain people does not mean they could all be the necessary parties. These policies are not my policies. Whether it breaches the right to privacy is to be seen but merely because they share it with X, Y or Z is not a ground to investigate me,” the Senior Counsel argued.Rohatgi further submitted that because challenge to WhatsApp’s privacy policy of 2016 as well as 2021 is pending before courts, judicial discipline demands that CCI does not act in this manner.“They are asking me to show my revenue and balance sheet. It is not an accounting issue. If the highest court in the land is seized of the matter, I dare say, it is a matter of judicial discipline that they not act in this manner,” he submitted..Earlier, Senior Advocate Harish Salve appearing for WhatsApp had argued that they are not challenging the investigation but the challenge is to CCI’s jurisdiction to probe the matter.Salve submitted that the commission is probing its privacy policy which has now been kept in abeyance and as the government is now in process to bring the Data Protection Bill, the cause of action in the matter has disappeared.“If they allow our privacy policy, we will have it. If they don’t, we won’t,” he said..Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Parag Tripathi appeared for Facebook Indian Online Services Pvt Ltd and argued that it has nothing to with the privacy policy yet, it too, has been roped in the probe.Tripathi said that under Section 26 of the Competition Act, the CCI has to have some reason to start a probe into its affairs but it has been done without giving any reason..The Court will now hear Additional Solicitor General (ASG) N Venkatraman for CCI on Monday..[BREAKING] WhatsApp Privacy Policy to be put on hold till Data Protection Bill takes effect: Harish Salve tells Delhi High Court