As the Supreme Court hears Meta and WhatsApp’s appeal against a ₹213 crore penalty over the 2021 privacy policy, the case has opened up a wider debate on how user data is monetised, how meaningful consent really is, and how India should regulate Big Tech platforms
India’s top court has drawn a red line for Big Tech: you cannot sell Indian citizens’ personal data as the price for staying connected.
On February 3, the Supreme Court warned WhatsApp and its parent company Meta Platforms that it would not allow them to share users’ personal information for targeted advertising, framing the issue not as a technical dispute over privacy policies but as a question of how digital platforms monetise the everyday lives of millions of “silent consumers”.