THE Nigerian government has imposed a $220 million fine on Meta, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp over alleged violations of the local consumer, data protection and privacy laws.
This was contained in a statement shared by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Friday, July 19.
In the statement, FCCPC’s acting Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive, Dr. Adamu Abdullahi, noted that an investigation by the commission between May 2021 and December 2023 showed that Meta had taken control of Nigerian users’ data on its platforms without their permission.
He alleged that the social media company misused their position of power in the market, treating Nigerians unfairly and unequally in comparison to other countries with equivalent laws.
“The totality of the investigation has concluded that Meta Parties over a protracted period of time have engaged in conduct that constitute multiple and repeated, as well as continuing infringements of the FCCPA and NDPR, particularly, but not limited to abusive, and invasive practices against data subjects/consumers in Nigeria.
“Such as appropriating personal data or information without consent, discriminatory practices against Nigerian data subjects/consumers or disparate treatment of consumers/data subjects compared with other jurisdictions with similar regulatory frameworks.
“Abuse of dominant market position by forcing unscrupulous, exploitative, and non-compliant privacy policies which appropriated consumer personal information without the option or opportunity to self-determine or otherwise withhold or provide consent to the gathering, use, and/or sharing of such personal data,” part of the statement reads.
Meta did not immediately comment, but the FCCPC said in a statement that the company had provided some documents and had retained counsels who had met and engaged with the agency.
The FCCPC added that the penalty is in accordance with the FCCPA 2018, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (Administrative Penalties) Regulations 2020 (APR), stating that the commission is committed to protecting the privacy of Nigerians under the Constitution and all data protection laws and regulations, as well as ensuring that consumer rights are respected.
Multimedia journalist covering Entertainment and Foreign news