New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday issued an important order regarding user security and data sharing on WhatsApp. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has directed WhatsApp to take user consent before sharing user data. The tribunal said WhatsApp has not acquired any arbitrary or capricious rights over user data. The tribunal clarified that it has the right to collect or share data only after obtaining the consent of the user. It clarified that users have the right to decide what data is collected for what purpose and for how long. In its order, NCLAT clarified that while collecting user data for advertising or other purposes, the user has the right to withdraw it and it should be done only with the consent of the user. The court clarified that it is necessary to obtain the consent of users before WhatsApp collects data for advertising or other purposes. The order states that users should be given the option to opt out of data sharing at any stage, thereby ensuring privacy and security of user data. It also said that this will reduce misuse of data, which was a key issue in the 2021 WhatsApp policy. A bench of NCLAT chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and member Arun Baroka has now given WhatsApp three months to implement this new order. On November 4, the National Competition Court (NCLAT) imposed a fine of Rs 213 crore on WhatsApp for non-compliance with the rules. However, the judgment did not contain any clear directions regarding sharing of data for advertising purposes. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) recently filed a petition in NCLAT seeking clarification in this regard. Hearing the matter, the bench passed the order that consent is mandatory for sharing user data for any purpose.
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