Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it disagreed with an order by India's competition watchdog that placed data-sharing restrictions between WhatsApp and its other applications and said it would legally challenge the order.

India’s competition watchdog has ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with other Meta units for advertising purposes for five years and also levied a fine of $25.4 million for antitrust violations related to WhatsApp’s controversial 2021 privacy policy.

Meta does not agree with the fine for antitrust violations by WhatsApp in India and announces legal action.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India’s competition watchdog directed WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data for advertising purposes with other applications owned by Meta for a period of five years and fined the U.S. tech giant $25.4 million on November 18 over antitrust violations related to the messaging application’s 2021 privacy policy.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of ₹213.14 crore (approximately USD 25.4 million) on Meta Platforms for abusing its dominant position through WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy

Zuckerberg's Meta is not ready to abide fully by India's latest watchdog rulings. Meta will most likely appeal an order from the world's most populated country that has to do with WhatsApp.

Meta has announced plans to legally challenge the Indian Competition Commission's order restricting data sharing between WhatsApp and other Meta apps. The ruling imposed a USD 25.4 mn fine, to prevent WhatsApp from sharing user data for advertising across Meta platforms for 5 years.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in its order on Monday that restrictions on data sharing would be placed for five years. It had begun an investigation into WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy in March that year.