The Supreme Court of India just delivered a strong warning to WhatsApp and its parent company Meta over their data-sharing practices! In a heated hearing today (February 3, 2026), the bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant slammed the 2021 "take it or leave it" privacy policy, calling the forced consent a form of "manufactured consent" and even a "decent way of committing theft" of personal information. The court emphasized that no single piece of Indian users' data can be shared if it violates privacy rights, stating clearly: - "If you can't follow our Constitution, leave India." - "We will not allow you to play with the right to privacy of citizens." - "You can't play with the data of Indians... Right to privacy is zealously protected in this country." This comes amid appeals against the Competition Commission of India (CCI)’s order imposing a hefty Rs 213.14 crore penalty on Meta for abusing its dominant position in the messaging market by forcing users to accept expanded data sharing with Meta companies (for ads and other purposes) or lose access to WhatsApp. Key background: - The controversy traces back to WhatsApp's 2021 policy update. - CCI (Nov 2024) fined Meta Rs 213.14 crore + imposed restrictions (including a 5-year data-sharing ban for ads). - NCLAT (Nov 2025) upheld the penalty but partially lifted the ban, allowing some data sharing with safeguards like opt-outs. - Supreme Court has now restrained WhatsApp from sharing user data in the interim, impleaded the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), and will pass interim directions on February 9/10, 2026. This is a major win for user privacy in India, where WhatsApp has massive dominance and billions rely on it daily. The court made it crystal clear: Business interests cannot override constitutional rights! #WhatsAppPrivacy #Meta #DataPrivacy #SupremeCourtIndia #RightToPrivacy #DigitalRights #CCI #PrivacyMatters #TechNews #IndiaNews #Trending #Viral #PrivacyFirst #BigTech #UserRights #EndToEndEncryption #🚨UPSC Exams📚 #📰GK & करेंट अफेयर्स Students💡 #📚प्रतियोगी परीक्षा विशेष🏆 #🙄फैक्ट्स✍ #📜 Whatsapp स्टेटस