• Home
  • Apps
  • Apps News
  • WhatsApp Antitrust Complaint Dismissed by Competition Commission of India

WhatsApp Antitrust Complaint Dismissed by Competition Commission of India

A case in March alleged that WhatsApp was bundling its digital payment facility - WhatsApp Pay - within its messaging app for which it already has a large user base.

WhatsApp Antitrust Complaint Dismissed by Competition Commission of India

CCI says the company has not abused its dominant position to expand in India's digital payments market

Highlights
  • CCI says it didn't find any contravention of antitrust laws
  • The order will come as a relief for WhatsApp
  • WhatsApp has for months struggled to get clearances
Advertisement

The country's antitrust watchdog - Competition Commission of India (CCI) - has dismissed a case against Facebook's WhatsApp, saying the company has not abused its dominant position to expand in the country's digital payments market, according to an official order.

A case in March alleged that WhatsApp was bundling its digital payment facility, WhatsApp Pay, within its messaging app for which it already has a large user base. The case claimed WhatsApp was abusing its position by forcing its payments feature on to its existing users.

In a 41-page official order made public late on Tuesday, the CCI said it did not find any contravention of antitrust laws, adding the company's "actual conduct is yet to manifest in the market" as it has not fully launched the service yet.

"As stated by WhatsApp, the number of users being served under the beta version is limited to less than 1 percent of its users in India," said the order.

The order will come as a relief for WhatsApp, which is seen close to a full launch of its payments service in its biggest market by users but one where it has for months struggled to get required clearances

The Supreme Court is separately hearing cases challenging the expansion of its payment service. WhatsApp did not respond to a request for comment. In its defence, the company had told the CCI its users are not required to register for or use WhatsApp's payment feature in order to use the messaging service, the order said.

© Thomson Reuters 2020

 

 


Should the government explain why Chinese apps were banned? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Instagram Rolls Out QR Codes, Allows Users to Open Profiles From Any Camera App: Report
Gionee Max to Mark the Return of Gionee to Indian Market, Set to Launch on August 25
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »