Nigerian watchdog fines Meta $220M for data abuse

Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has imposed a US$220 million fine on Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, over alleged data abuse of Nigerian users.

The FCCPC said in a statement the decision followed 38 months of investigating Meta's conduct and operations – between May 2021 and December 2023 – through a joint investigation by the watchdog and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

According to the authority, the tech company violated Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (FCCPA), Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 (NDPR) and other relevant laws.

However, the FCCPC did acknowledge Meta's responsiveness to its request during the investigation.

"Meta Parties have provided some information/evidence that are in part responsive to document requests and summons under the joint investigation," the FCCPC explained.

The FCCPC said its findings showed that Meta had engaged in abusive and invasive practices against data subjects and consumers in Nigeria. Furthermore, the Commission found that Meta forced "unscrupulous, exploitative, and non-compliant privacy policies" that appropriated consumers' 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.

The final order imposes a monetary penalty of US$220 million in accordance with the FCCPA of 2018 and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (Administrative Penalties) Regulations of 2020, the FCCPC said.

Meta responds

According to TechCabal, a Meta spokesperson said the tech company not only disagrees with the judgment and the fine, but also plans to appeal.

Meta has disagreed with the Nigerian judgment and fine, vowing to appeal it. (Source: Freepik)

Meta also disputed the FCCPC's central claim.

"In 2021, we went to users globally to explain how talking to businesses, among other things, would work, and while there was a lot of confusion then, it's actually proven quite popular," the Meta spokesperson explained.

"We disagree with the decision today as well as the fine, and we are appealing the decision," the spokesperson concluded.

American tech giants penalized

Nigeria's FCCPC is not the first regulator to have a problem with big tech companies in recent years.

In August 2023, South Africa's Competition Commission (CompCom) took aim at some of the biggest online platforms. It demanded that Google, Apple, Uber Eats and Takealot improve competition for smaller players locally.

The SA CompCom called for companies to implement remedial actions as part of its findings from the Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry (OIPMI) report.

In March 2022, the CompCom also asked the South Africa's Competition Tribunal to fine Meta 10% of its local turnover for alleged abuse of dominance.

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*Top image source: Freepik.

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa