Bombay High Court weighs a suspended agency
Blink Digital India Pvt. Ltd. has asked the Bombay High Court to restore four Business Manager accounts and associated corporate pages disabled by Meta. The agency also seeks damages and compensation of Rs 1,158 crore, according to media reports; the court orders reviewed do not independently state the amount. The case is due before Justice Sandeep V. Marne on October 14.
Meta has not argued the merits yet. Instead, its counsel has focused on whether the dispute belongs in an Indian court at all, and on which contracts Blink accepted as a commercial user.
Meta’s contract stack
Meta described four contracts governing the relationship: the terms of service, commercial terms, self-serve advertising terms and country-specific advertising terms. Its position is that these must be read together, and that Facebook India Online Services is not a party to the principal terms in the way Blink suggests. If restoration requires an order against Meta Platforms Inc., the Indian entity alone cannot supply the relief, Meta submitted.
Crucially, Meta has labelled Blink a commercial user rather than a consumer. That distinction opens the door to the exclusive jurisdiction provisions in the platform’s standard terms.
The California clause
Meta’s counsel argued that non-consumer claims must be resolved exclusively before the US District Court for the Northern District of California or a state court in San Mateo County, with California law governing. The commercial terms contain a similar provision for commercial claims involving Meta Platforms Inc. where the business sits outside the US.
The court has not decided whether these clauses defeat Blink’s Indian proceedings. The September 17 hearing did, however, record Meta’s statement that it would preserve Blink’s data in accordance with law until the next hearing.
What agencies should do now
For Indian agencies, the dispute is a contract-stack risk problem, not just a policy appeal. The practical checklist:
- Identify the exact Meta entity you contract with, not just the platform brand.
- Review the governing law and jurisdiction provisions alongside ad policies.
- Document account access, policy communications and campaign activity as they happen.
- Plan client contingencies for sudden platform loss or suspension.
None of these steps can stop a suspension, but they can reduce the blind spots when access to ad infrastructure is cut off. The case may ultimately clarify how far global platform terms can push Indian agencies away from their local courts.
Source: MediaNews4U
