India, Feb. 3 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will not permit the "exploitation" of personal data of even a single Indian citizen, adding that the messaging platform WhatsApp sharing data with its parent company, Meta Platforms, was nothing but a "decent way of committing theft of personal information".

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymala Bagchi and V.M. Pancholi was hearing a batch of appeals and cross-appeals filed by WhatsApp, Meta and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) November 4, 2025 order upholding a Rs.213.14 crore penalty over WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy.

Meta told the bench that it had already paid the fu...