NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT FINES META $220m FOR BREACHING THE DATA PRIVACIES OF NIGERIANS

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) of Nigeria has fined Meta, a subsidiary of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, $220 million for allegedly violating data privacy.

The commission revealed its findings in a statement signed by acting executive chairman Adamu Abdullahi on Friday.

It found Meta responsible for depriving Nigerian data subjects of their right to self-determination, transferring and sharing Nigerian data without authorization, including violating cross-border storage regulations, discriminating against and treating them differently, abusing its dominance, and tying and bundling.

As per the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (Administrative Penalties) Regulations 2020 (APR) and the FCCPA 2018, a monetary penalty of Two Hundred and Twenty Million U.S. Dollars only ($220,000,000.00) (at the prevailing exchange rate where applicable) is also imposed by the Final order, according to the FCCPC.

This decision will be challenged, according to a WhatsApp representative. “We will file an appeal because we disagree with both this decision and the fine,” the spokeswoman declared.

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and the FCCPC conducted a joint 38-month investigation that resulted in this ruling, the FCCPC stated (May 2021 and December 2023).

The probe looked into Meta’s behaviour, privacy practices, and day-to-day activities.

The FCCPC said it began its investigations in May 2021 based on available evidence that Meta, through its platforms, had violated provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 (NDPR), which were in force before the enactment and operationalisation of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA).