thrissur l tuesday l November 19, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Competition Commission slaps K213 crore penalty on Meta The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday imposed J213.14 crore penalty on the company for abusing its dominant position Action over 2021 whatsapp privacy update Asks meta to bar whatsapp data sharing The penalty is over Meta-owned WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update on a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ basis. The commission said the update forces users to comply, undermining their autonomy, and constitutes an abuse of Meta’s dominant position. The CCI said it constituted “an imposition of unfair condition” under the Competition Act, 2002 ■ ■ The regulator asked the US social media giant to bar WhatsApp from sharing data it collected with other Meta companies The CCI said sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services shall not be made a condition for users to access in India Sec 4(2) Of Competition Act, 2002 breached by the 2021 privacy policy update CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI 1 protester dead; more troops sent to Manipur Helpless local BJP office-bearers resign; Shah holds 2nd review meet MU K E SH R A N J A N a n d P r a s a n ta Ma z u m d a r @ New Delhi/ Guwahati Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Manipur with senior officials, his second in as many days. One person was killed and another injured in alleged police firing during mob violence in Jiribam town on Sunday night even as several local office bearers of the ruling BJP submitted their resignations expressing deep concern over the prevailing “unwelcome/ helpless situation”. A mob had gone on the rampage in Jiribam and attacked the offices of the BJP and the Congress, prompting the police to allegedly open fire. The state government has ordered a probe. Given the volatile situation, the Union home ministry decided to send 50 more companies (5,000 troops) of the Central Armed Police Forces — 35 CRPF, 15 BSF — to the troubletorn state. This is over and above 20 companies (15 CRPF and 5 BSF) sent last week. At the meeting, Shah directed the CAPFs and the state police to intensify their opera- Minister Govindas Konthoujam’s residence, that was set on fire in Bishnupur | PTI There is no question of withdrawing support. The govt is doing its best but unfortunately, it could not save lives. We appeal to people to exercise restraint — BJP ally Naga People’s Front minister Awangbou Newmai tions to quickly restore normalcy. In Imphal, Chief Minister N Biren Singh chaired a meeting with the NDA legislators. The state’s security advisor Kuldiep Singh chaired another security review meeting. Top police and paramilitary officials were present. The meetings come after arson attacks and vandalism by mobs targeting the houses and the properties of over a dozen legislators, including ministers. Leishangthem Susindro, a minister, has built a bunker at his house, which was targeted by a mob two days ago. The Manipur government extended the ban on internet and mobile data services in seven affected districts till November 20, and ordered the closure of all educational institutes in Imphal East, Imphal West and Bishnupur districts. Influential Meitei organisation, ‘Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity’, locked the GST Bhavan and election department office on Monday It . had on Saturday issued a 24hour ultimatum to the Centre and the state government, demanding a military crackdown on “armed Chin-Kuki groups”. Munambam dispute: Thangal, Kunhalikutty hold meeting with bishops of Latin Church A n u K u r u v i l l a @ Kochi In a significant move to ease the simmering tension over the Munambam land dispute, Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal and P K Kunhalikutty , two most senior leaders of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), called on Latin Catholic bishops at the Varapuzha Archdiocese headquarters in Ernakulam on Monday Repre. sentatives of the MunambamKadapuram Bhoomi Samrakshana Samiti also participated in the discussions. After the meeting, they jointly stated that the onus is on the state government to find a solution to the issue in an amicable manner, and assured all support in this regard. The discussion, which lasted more than an hour, came ahead of the state government’s high-level meeting on November 22 to resolve the land dispute at Munambam where about 615 families — mostly from the Latin Christian community — are fighting for rights over their land following claims by the Waqf Board. Sixteen bishops of the Kerala Region Latin Catholic Bish- ops’ Council (KRLCBC), including Varapuzha Archbishop Mar Joseph Kalathiparambil, attended the meeting, which assumed political significance as it was held on the final day of the campaigning for the Palakkad assembly by-election. Sources said Thangal, who arrived in Kochi on Sunday night from Kozhikode, was planning to visit Munambam on Monday and discussed this with KRLCBC president Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal. However, the bishop invited him to the Varapuzha archdio- Current interest rates stressful: FM to banks Express news service @ Mumbai Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the current cost of borrowing is very stressful and asked banks to cut the interest rates to make bor rowing more affordable. “What is important is that when you look at our growth requirements, and you have so many different voices coming out and saying the cost of borrowing is really very stressful, and a time when we want industries to ramp up and move (to) building capacities, interest rates will have to be far more affordable,” Sitharaman said at a SBI event here. Her remarks come amid the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision not to lower the interest rates since February 2023. The rates were left unchanged for the tenth time in the October policy. Retail inflation, too, re- mains above the tolerance level. With the retail inflation rising to a 14-month high of 6.21% in October, analysts are expecting the central bank to keep the rates unchanged in the next policy review in December as well. However, the finance minister’s nudge came amid concerns about a possible slowdown in economic growth. Falling demand from urban consumers is one of the prime worries. cese Bishop’s House for a meeting. According to KRLCC sources, the Church has been in contact with Thangal and Kunhalikutty regarding the Munambam issue. Thangal, Kunhalikutty and Bishop Chakkalakal told reporters that they want an amicable settlement to the issue and that the onus is on the state government to bring everyone together to arrive at a legally binding solution. “The Munambam issue needs to be resolved at the earliest since it would become even more complex with each passing day,” ● More on P4 Thangal said.  EXPRESS READ Palakkad by-election campaign concludes Palakkad: The high-octane campaign for the Palakkad assembly by-election reached its climax on Monday, with the three major fronts holding massive rallies marking its culmination. The area near the Indira Gandhi Stadium bus stand in Palakkad was the focus of all the fronts, as a contest that drew nationwide attention due to the triangular contest reached a defining stage ahead of polls on Wednesday. P4