The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
(FCCPC) has asked Meta Platforms Inc. to stop exploiting consumers and comply
with Nigerian laws.
FCCPC spoke in a statement on Saturday by Ondaje Ijagwu, its
director of corporate affairs.
The statement is the latest development in a dispute that
began in 2024 between WhatsApp and the commission over Nigeria’s privacy law.
In July 2024, FCCPC) imposed a fine of $220 million on Meta,
the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, for multiple data
privacy violations.
The FCCPC said the penalty followed a joint investigation
with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into Meta Platforms’
conduct, privacy policies, its operations and practices between May 2021 and
December 2023.
In response, WhatsApp said it would appeal the fine and
threatened to exit the country.
On April 25, the competition and consumer protection
tribunal upheld the $220 million fine the FCCPC imposed on Meta.
The tech company responded with another threat to shut down
the Nigerian operations of Facebook and Instagram.
In the latest statement, the FCCPC described the platform’s
exit threat as a “calculated move” intended to induce negative public reaction
and potentially pressure the commission to reconsider its decision.
The agency said Meta parties repeatedly infringed on
Nigerians’ rights by “denying them control over their personal data, sharing
user information without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users
compared to others globally, and imposing unfair privacy policies that exploit
their dominant market position.”
“Interestingly, Meta had been fined for similar breaches in
Texas ($1.5b) and only recently was asked to pay $1.3 Billion for violating
E.U. Data Privacy Rules,” the FCCPC said.
“Elsewhere in India, South Korea, France and Australia, Meta
had faced varying penalties for similar breaches. But Meta never resorted to
the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries. They obeyed.
“The recent affirmation of FCCPC’s final order by the
Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal requires Meta Parties to take
steps to comply with Nigerian law, stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, change
their practices to meet Nigerian standards and respect consumer rights,
consistent with international best practices.”
The FCCPC also stressed that no company operating within
Nigeria is above the law.
“Threatening to leave Nigeria does not absolve Meta of
liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process,” the statement added.
Reaffirming its commitment to consumer protection, the FCCPC
vowed to continue enforcing consumer protection and data privacy to ensure a
fairer digital market in Nigeria.
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