The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) of Nigeria has responded to WhatsApp’s claim that it may exit the Nigerian market over a $220 million fine and additional regulatory demands, asserting that the move appears to be a strategic effort to sway public opinion and pressure the Commission to reconsider its decision.
TechCabal which published Whatsapp position quoted two officials of the tech giant as saying that it would be impossible to continue to provide its services in Nigeria if the fine is upheld.
“This order contains multiple inaccuracies and misrepresents how WhatsApp works. WhatsApp relies on limited data to run our service and keep users safe, and it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally without Meta’s infrastructure. We are urgently appealing the order to avoid any impact on users,” the source.
The FCCPC’s recent investigation into Meta Platforms and WhatsApp—referred to collectively as the “Meta Parties”—revealed multiple violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
The Commission found that Meta Parties had repeatedly infringed on these regulations by denying Nigerians control over their personal data, sharing user data without proper authorization, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to those in other regions, and imposing unfair privacy policies due to their dominant market position.
The FCCPC said, “WhatsApp’s claim that it may be forced to exit Nigeria due to FCCPC’s recent order appears to be a strategic move aimed at influencing public opinion and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.
“The Commission found that Meta Parties engaged in multiple and repeated infringements of the FCCPA and the NDPR. These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies.
“The final order requires Meta Parties to take steps to comply with Nigerian law, stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, change their practices to meet Nigerian standards and respect consumer rights. To deter future violations and ensure accountability for the alleged infringements the FCCPC also imposed a monetary penalty of $220 million.
“The FCCPC’s actions are based on legitimate concerns about consumer protection and data privacy and the order is a positive step towards 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.”
In response to these findings, the FCCPC issued a final order mandating the Meta Parties to align their practices with Nigerian laws, halt the exploitation of Nigerian consumers, and respect local consumer rights.
The substantial fine of $220 million was imposed as a deterrent to future violations and to ensure accountability.
The FCCPC dismissed WhatsApp’s claim that compliance with the order would be technically impossible and would negatively impact users globally.
According to the Commission, such measures are standard practice in other jurisdictions and do not necessitate a company’s exit from the market.
Meta has not commented directly on the FCCPC’s claim regarding WhatsApp’s policy changes but reiterated that its January 2021 Privacy Policy update does not involve the sharing of user data.
