Breaking: FG reacts to WhatsApp’s alleged threat to leave Nigeria

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has stated that its $220 million penalty on WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta Platforms Incorporated, is a positive step toward a fairer digital market in Nigeria. 

FCCPC disclosed this via its X page on August 1, 2024, representing its latest comments on the operation of social media giants in Nigeria. 

The FCCPC also stated that any claim by WhatsApp that it may be forced to exit Nigeria due to the recent order, appears to be a strategic move aimed at influencing public opinion and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision. 

FCCPC’s Orders and WhatsApp’s Appeal 

Nairametrics previously reported that the FCCPC, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), had imposed a $220 million penalty on Meta Platforms Incorporated over alleged discriminatory practices against Nigerian data and consumers. 

The Commission disclosed that the investigation concluded that Meta Platforms had engaged in conduct constituting ongoing infringements of Nigeria’s consumer protection and data laws over an extended period. 

The decision by the FCCPC has been appealed by WhatsApp and Meta Platforms’ legal team. 

In their appeal, exclusively obtained by Nairametrics, they argued that the FCCPC denied them a fair hearing by imposing a hefty penalty without giving them an opportunity to understand the basis for the penalty calculation and to respond to it. 

The appellants further argued that, contrary to the FCCPC’s order on compliance, it would be impossible to identify and build a consent mechanism for each data point processed by Nigerian consumers. 

They added that doing so would be “extremely expensive.” 

FCCPC Insists on Final Orders 

On its X page, the FCCPC maintained that it investigated Meta Platforms and WhatsApp (jointly referred to as “Meta Parties”) for allegedly violating the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). 

The Commission found that the Meta Parties engaged in multiple and repeated infringements of the FCCPA and the NDPR.  

It stressed that to deter future violations and ensure accountability for the alleged infringements, the FCCPC also imposed a monetary penalty of $220 million. 

The Commission emphasized that its orders are legitimate and have also been applied by other countries where WhatsApp and Meta operate. 

FCCPC added: 

“The FCCPC’s actions are based on legitimate concerns about consumer protection and data privacy, and the order is a positive step toward a fairer digital market in Nigeria. Similar measures are taken in other jurisdictions without forcing companies to leave the market. The case of Nigeria will not be different.” 

What You Should Know 

According to data from Statista, there were nearly 41.6 million Facebook users in Nigeria as of May 2023, representing 18.5% of the country’s population. 

Following the FCCPC’s orders, WhatsApp reacted, stating, “In 2021, we went to users globally to explain how talking to businesses, among other things, would work. While there was a lot of confusion then, it has actually proven quite popular.” 

Meanwhile, fines such as those imposed against Meta are not uncommon. Last year, the European Data Protection Agency fined the tech giant Facebook a record €1.2 billion for not complying with the EU’s privacy regulations. 

The Irish Data Protection Commission stated that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, violated the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by transferring large amounts of European Facebook users’ personal data to the United States without adequately protecting it from U.S. data surveillance practices. 

Amazon had previously been fined €746 million by Luxembourg, and the Irish regulator imposed four fines on Meta’s platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—ranging from €225 million to €405 million between 2021 and 2023. 

Over the past five years, Big Tech companies Amazon, Meta, and Google have faced some of the largest fines imposed under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy laws. 

The legality or illegality of the recent penalties and orders against WhatsApp and Meta Platforms is now a matter for the courts to determine.