THE Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has responded to Meta’s threat to pull Facebook and Instagram out of Nigeria, stating that quitting the country does not absolve the US tech giant of its legal responsibilities.
In a statement issued Saturday and signed by the commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the FCCPC described Meta’s recent posture as a “calculated move” aimed at swaying public opinion and exerting pressure on the commission to reverse its regulatory orders.
The commission emphasised that Meta along with its subsidiary WhatsApp was found guilty of “multiple and repeated infringements” of Nigerian laws, including the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
“These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, and discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions,” the statement read.
FCCPC added that Meta abused its dominant market position by imposing unfair privacy policies on Nigerian users.
Meta’s practices, the FCCPC noted, are not unprecedented globally. The company has faced penalties for similar offenses in other jurisdictions, including a $1.5 billion fine in Texas and a $1.3 billion penalty for violating the European Union’s data privacy rules. Meta has also been fined in countries like India, South Korea, France, and Australia—without threatening to exit those markets.
“In none of those countries did Meta resort to the blackmail of threatening to exit,” the statement said, adding, “They obeyed.”
Earlier this week, Meta hinted in court filings that it may be “forced to effectively shut down Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria” in response to over $290 million in fines levied by Nigerian regulatory agencies and what it called “unrealistic” data handling demands.
But the FCCPC stressed that Meta’s threat to exit does not erase its obligations under Nigerian law.
“The recent affirmation of FCCPC’s final order by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal requires Meta Parties to comply with Nigerian law, stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, and respect consumer rights consistent with international best practices,” the commission said.
The ICIR reported that Nigerians could soon lose access to Facebook and Instagram after Meta warned that it may shut down its services in the country over hefty regulatory fines and demands.
Three Nigerian agencies, the FCCPC, the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) jointly imposed fines totaling over $290 million on Meta, accusing it of anti-competitive behavior, data privacy violations, and unauthorised advertising practices.
Meta challenged the fines in court but lost.
The company’s court filings cited the NDPC’s data transfer restrictions and other compliance demands as “unrealistic” and potentially detrimental to its operations.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.