Daud Olatunji
The Federal Government of Nigeria has levied a $220 million fine against Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, for violations of local consumer protection and data privacy laws.
This was disclosed by Dr. Adamu Abdullahi, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), on Friday.
Dr. Abdullahi revealed that investigations demonstrated that Meta engaged in unauthorised data-sharing practices, appropriating the personal data of Nigerian users without their consent.
He highlighted that Meta’s conduct constituted an abuse of its market dominance and involved discriminatory practices against Nigerian users compared to other regions with similar regulations.
“Meta appropriated the data of Nigerian users on its platforms without their consent, abused its market dominance, and meted out discriminatory and disparate treatment on Nigerians, compared with other jurisdictions with similar regulations,” Dr. Abdullahi stated.
The FCCPC’s findings stem from an extensive investigation conducted in collaboration with Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission.
The investigation, spanning over 38 months, uncovered that Meta’s policies did not offer users the ability to self-determine or withhold consent regarding the collection, use, and sharing of their personal data.
“The totality of the investigation has concluded that Meta, over a protracted period, engaged in conduct that constituted multiple and repeated, as well as continuing infringements… particularly, but not limited to, abusive and invasive practices against data subjects in Nigeria,” Dr. Abdullahi explained.
The FCCPC confirmed that Meta had been given ample opportunity to respond and defend its practices but failed to provide satisfactory explanations.
Consequently, the Commission issued a final order and imposed the penalty.
“Being satisfied with the significant evidence on the record, and that Meta has been provided every opportunity to articulate any position, representations, refutations, explanations, or defences of their conduct, the Commission has now entered a final order and issued a penalty against Meta,” Dr. Abdullahi said.
The final order also specifies actions and measures Meta must implement to align with local laws, ensuring future compliance with Nigeria’s data protection regulations.
In a related development, Turkey’s competition board fined Meta 1.2 billion lira in May for similar data-sharing violations on its Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp platforms.
Meta has faced significant scrutiny and legal challenges in Europe and other regions over alleged breaches of data protection laws.
The company’s plans to utilise personal data to train its artificial intelligence models without user consent have particularly drawn criticism in Europe.
As of the time of this report, Meta has not provided any immediate comment on the fine imposed by Nigeria’s FCCPC. However, the agency noted that Meta had submitted some documents and retained legal counsel to engage with the Commission.
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