An Indian appeals tribunal has suspended a five-year data-sharing ban imposed by the country’s antitrust authority on WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta.

This ban had restricted user data sharing between the two companies for advertising purposes.

The competition regulator implemented the ban to address concerns about potential misuse of user data.

However, the tribunal’s ruling temporarily halts the enforcement of this ban while the legal challenge is reviewed.

No final decision has been reached yet. Both Meta and WhatsApp remain under scrutiny by Indian authorities regarding data privacy issues.