Nov 4 (Reuters) - An Indian appeals tribunal on Tuesday

set aside an antitrust watchdog's five-year ban on Meta-owned

WhatsApp sharing user data with other Meta entities for

advertising, marking a partial win for the U.S. tech major, but

upheld a fine.

WhatsApp had challenged the Competition Commission of

India's November 2024 ban on data sharing between WhatsApp and

other Meta entities, warning it may have to roll back some

features.

Meta also criticised the CCI for not having the "technical

expertise" to understand the ramifications of its order.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) lifted

the data-sharing ban, noting that "the rationale for the...ban

was missing altogether".

However, it upheld the $25.4 million fine that the CCI had

imposed, saying Meta abused its dominance by imposing unfair

conditions.

Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for

comment.

The case began in 2021 amid criticism of WhatsApp's privacy

policy changes, with the CCI's probe finding that the policy

pushed users to accept the change or risk losing access to the

service.

India is Meta's biggest market with the highest number of

users on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp worldwide.