Meta has said that users enter into an agreement with the company when they sign up to use its services, and therefore, the relationship between the users and its platform arises out of a private contract, in the form of Meta’s Terms of Service.
“Meta does not perform an inalienable sovereign function and does not exclusively perform a function of public importance as a monopoly in its field. Meta is a private party, and Instagram users in India enter into an agreement with Meta when they register to use the Instagram Service. The Instagram Service is a free and voluntary platform, and Petitioner has no fundamental right to use it… Accordingly, Petitioner’s attempt to assert Article 19 rights against Meta, a private entity, is improper, contrary to law, and ought to be denied,” Meta has said in an affidavit.
Source: Barandbench
