India's Chief Justice delivered an extraordinary rebuke to Meta during a Supreme Court hearing on WhatsApp's privacy policies, telling the tech giant to "leave India if you can't follow the Constitution."
Chief Justice Surya Kant made the statement during proceedings in a case challenging WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy update, which critics argue violates Indian users' fundamental right to privacy. The case has become a flashpoint in the global debate over tech regulation and data sovereignty.
"You cannot have your cake and eat it too," Justice Kant told Meta's legal team. "If you want to operate in India and profit from Indian users, you must respect Indian constitutional values. Otherwise, you are free to leave."
The statement represents India's most direct challenge yet to Big Tech, and it comes with enormous stakes. India is WhatsApp's largest market with over 500 million users—more than the combined populations of the United States and Canada. For Meta, losing India would be catastrophic.
The privacy policy at issue requires WhatsApp users to share data with other Meta companies, including Facebook and Instagram, or stop using the service. While Meta offered users in Europe the ability to opt out under GDPR regulations, it provided no such option in India.
That discrepancy has become central to the legal challenge. Advocates representing petitioners argue that Meta is applying a "double standard"—treating Indian users as second-class compared to Europeans, despite India having its own robust privacy framework.
"Meta respects European privacy law because they fear massive fines," said Gautam Bhatia, a constitutional lawyer representing one of the petitioners. "But they think they can bulldoze Indian law. The Chief Justice just told them otherwise."
India enacted the Digital Personal Data Protection Act in 2023, establishing strict consent requirements and hefty penalties for violations. The law gives the government significant regulatory power over how companies collect, store, and use Indian citizens' data.
But tech companies have pushed back, arguing that India's approach—which includes data localization requirements and restrictions on cross-border data transfers—will stifle innovation and increase costs. Meta has previously warned that overly strict regulations could force it to reconsider its India operations.
The Chief Justice's comments suggest Indian courts won't be swayed by such threats. India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken an increasingly assertive stance on tech regulation, challenging what officials describe as "digital colonialism" by American corporations.
The approach mirrors—and in some ways exceeds—the European Union's regulatory framework. But unlike the EU, India combines strong regulation with a massive, growing user base. The country's digital economy is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, and tech companies cannot afford to abandon that growth.
"This is India flexing regulatory muscle," said Nikhil Pahwa, founder of tech policy publication MediaNama. "The question is whether Meta blinks first, or whether the court follows through with real enforcement."
The Supreme Court has scheduled further hearings for March, when it will consider whether WhatsApp's privacy policy violates constitutional protections. Legal experts say the court could order WhatsApp to offer Indian users the same opt-out provisions available to Europeans, or even temporarily suspend the policy pending a final ruling.
Meta declined to comment directly on the Chief Justice's statement but reiterated its commitment to operating in India. "We respect Indian law and are committed to engaging constructively with the court," a company spokesperson said.
But the exchange signals a hardening position from India's judiciary. In recent years, the Supreme Court has increasingly asserted authority over tech platforms, ordering content removals, demanding transparency on algorithms, and questioning social media companies' role in spreading misinformation.
For other tech giants operating in India—including Google, Amazon, and Apple—the WhatsApp case is being watched closely. A ruling against Meta could establish precedent for broader regulation and embolden regulators to challenge other platforms.
"India is now a battleground for the future of tech regulation," said Prateek Waghre, policy director at the Internet Freedom Foundation. "What happens here will influence how democracies worldwide approach Big Tech."
The stakes extend beyond privacy. India's approach to tech regulation intersects with geopolitics, as the Modi government has banned dozens of Chinese apps and pushed for domestic alternatives. Some critics worry that India's regulatory framework could be weaponized for political purposes, censoring dissent under the guise of protecting privacy.
But for now, the focus is on whether Meta will comply with Indian constitutional requirements or risk losing its largest market.
A billion people aren't a statistic—they're a billion stories. And India's judiciary has just made clear that those billion stories deserve the same digital rights as anyone else.
