New Delhi: The Supreme Court today (February 3) strongly criticised Meta Platforms and WhatsApp over their 2021 privacy policy, warning that it would not allow exploitation of Indians’ personal data.Hearing appeals against an NCLAT order upholding a Rs 213.14 crore Competition Commission of India penalty, the bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said WhatsApp’s monopoly leaves users with no real choice and likened its data practices to “theft of private information”.The CCI had also filed a cross-appeal challenging the NCLAT’s order to the extent it allowed Meta and WhatsApp to share users’ data for advertising purposes after finding that there was no abuse of dominance by them, LiveLaw has reported.The apex court questioned the effectiveness of opt-out provisions, raised concerns over commercial monetisation of user data, and flagged gaps in India’s data protection regime.The bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi, said, “We will not allow you to share even a single information, you cannot play with the rights of this country, let a clear message go…”.“You are making a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country. We will dismiss it right away. How can you play with the right of privacy of people like this? Consumer has no choice, you have created monopoly,” the CJI added.The report noted that when Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal submitted for WhatsApp that there is an option to opt out of the policy, the CJI questioned how a “poor woman selling fruits on the streets” will understand the terms of your policy. “Nobody will be available to understand. Will your domestic help understand this? You might have taken the data of millions of persons. This is a decent way of committing theft of private information. We will not allow you to use it,” CJI Kant said.Other outlets have reported the courts as having said, “If you can’t follow our Constitution, leave India. We won’t allow citizens’ privacy to be compromised.”Meta and WhatsApp were directed to file affidavits, and the case was adjourned.