The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has stated that Meta’s threat to exit Nigeria following a recent regulatory order will not absolve the company from any legal consequences.
A statement issued in Abuja, the FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Ondaje Ijagwu, stressed that Meta and its subsidiaries must comply with the nation’s laws.
Ijagwu described Meta’s threat as a calculated move aimed at inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.
He said the recent affirmation of FCCPC’s final order by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal required Meta parties to stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, change their practices to meet Nigerian standards consistent with international best practices.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal had awarded $220 million against Meta Platforms Incorporated and WhatsApp LLC as an administrative penalty for the violations.
Also, the tribunal further awarded $35,000 to the FCCPC as cost of investigation.
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”The FCCPC investigated Meta Platforms and WhatsApp (jointly referred to as Meta Parties) for allegedly violating the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
”The commission found that Meta Parties engaged in multiple and repeated infringements of the FCCPA (2018) and the NDPR.
”These infringements include denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation.
”Others are discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies,” he said.
Ijagwu said that Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas ($1.5 billion) and only recently was asked to pay $1.3 billion for violating European Union (EU) Data Privacy Rules.
He said that Meta had faced penalties in India, South Korea, France and Australia for similar breaches.
According to him, Meta never resorted to the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries rather, they obeyed.
Ijagwu said that FCCPC remains committed in its pursuit of consumer protection and data privacy toward ensuring a fairer digital market in the country.
