Meta, the founding company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has warned it may suspend its services in Nigeria following a tribunal ruling upholding $290 million in fines imposed by regulators.
The penalties include a $220 million fine from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), a $37.5 million sanction by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), and a $32.8 million charge from the Nigerian Data Protection Commission. The FCCPC also ordered Meta to pay an additional $35,000 for investigation costs.
In court filings, Meta stated: “The applicant may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures.”
The FCCPC accused Meta of breaching Nigerian data protection and consumer rights laws. CEO Adamu Abdullahi claimed investigations from May 2021 to December 2023 exposed “invasive practices against data subjects/consumers in Nigeria,” including unauthorized data sharing and market dominance abuse.
A WhatsApp spokesperson previously rejected the fines, stating: “We disagree with this decision as well as the fine.”
Nigeria has approximately 164.3 million internet users, with Meta’s platforms among the most widely used. The company faces similar scrutiny in Europe, where it was fined €200 million for violating EU data rules.
The tribunal upheld the FCCPC’s findings, with spokesman Ondaje Ijagwu stating: “The Commission did not err in making those findings.”
Meta’s next steps remain uncertain as tensions escalate with Nigerian regulators.
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