Nigeria has fined US tech giant Meta $220 million for violations of antitrust, data protection, and consumer rights laws. Meta is the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as the WhatsApp messaging service.
On Friday, Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) accused Meta of discriminatory practices, market dominance abuse, unauthorized sharing of Nigerians’ personal data, and denying Nigerians the right to control their data usage. The FCCPC stated it had “significant evidence on the record” following a 38-month investigation that began in May 2021. FCCPC Chief Executive Officer Adamu Abdullahi said investigations showed that Meta had engaged in “invasive practices against data subjects in Nigeria.”
Abdullahi emphasized that the tech giant must “comply with the prevailing law and cease the exploitation of Nigerian consumers and their market abuse.” The commission ordered Meta to “desist from future similar or other conduct/practices that do not meet nationally applicable standards.”
The FCCPC mentioned that Meta was aware of the ongoing investigation and had proposed a “remedy package” that failed to address the initial concerns. Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news agencies.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has approximately 164 million internet subscriptions out of a total population of 200 million. About three-quarters of Nigerians are under the age of 24, with many having grown up using social media. WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram are among the most popular platforms in Nigeria.
In December, Communication Minister Bosun Tijani stated that the country had “over 51 million WhatsApp users.” Nigeria’s government is not the first to challenge Meta over antitrust and data collection issues. Earlier this month, the European Union also accused Meta of breaching the bloc’s tech regulations.
