(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 Monday over antitrust violations related to the messaging application's 2021 privacy policy.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook (NASDAQ:META) and its units, sparking global backlash.
"Sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies... for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp service shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp Service in India," the CCI said.
Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Tech giants, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta face new regulatory challenges with India's proposed EU-like antitrust law.
The Indian government is currently examining a February report from a panel established by the corporate affairs ministry. The report proposed a new "Digital Competition Bill" to complement existing antitrust laws.
The U.S.-India Business Council, a key U.S. lobby group has already opposed the move, fearing its business impact.
($1 = 84.3740 Indian rupees)