Consumer Courts Can Entertain Complaints Against WhatsApp : UP State Consumer Commission

The UP State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has held that WhatsApp, as a service provider operating in India, falls within the purview of Indian consumer protection laws.

The ruling came in response to an appeal by former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, whose complaint seeking compensation for a six-hour service disruption was earlier rejected by the Lucknow District Forum.

The district forum had reasoned that WhatsApp was a foreign entity and that Thakur, being a free user, was not a consumer.

The State Commission overruled this, directing the district forum to register the complaint and decide it within 90 days as per the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.