Meta Platforms Incorporated has been fined $220,000,000 by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for allegedly engaging in discriminatory acts against Nigerian customers and data.
This was made public on Friday in a statement that the FCCPC’s acting chief executive officer, Dr. Adamu Abdullahi, signed.
The fine results from a joint investigation by the Commission and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) investigating the privacy policies, behaviour, and practices of Meta platforms throughout the 38-month period from May 2021 to December 2023.
The statement claims that in May 2021, the Commission ordered Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) and WhatsApp LLC to provide a defence to its investigative report, describing how their actions purportedly violated applicable data rules.
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According to reports, Meta responded to some of the requests and summonses made as part of the joint inquiry.
“Meta Parties by themselves and retained counsels have also repeatedly engaged with and met with investigators and analysts from the Commission and the NDPC, including as recently as April 4, 2024,” the statement added.
The Commission revealed that after conducting a thorough investigation, it was determined that Meta platforms had been continuously violating the FCCPA and NDPR for a considerable amount of time, “particularly, but not limited to abusive, and invasive practices against data subjects/consumers in Nigeria, such as appropriating personal data or information without consent, discriminatory practices against Nigerian data subjects/consumers or disparate treatment of consumers/data subjects compared with other jurisdictions with similar regulatory frameworks, abuse of dominant market position by forcing unscrupulous, exploitative, and non-compliant privacy policies which appropriated consumer 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.”
Penalty of $200,000,000 against Meta
The FCCPC declared that the Commission has now entered a final Order and issued a penalty against Meta Parties, including a $220,000,000 fine, after being satisfied with the evidence on file and giving them every opportunity to express any position, representations, refutations, explanations, or defences of their conduct and practices under the law.
The final order outlined the alleged violations by Meta, which included depriving Nigerian data subjects of their right to self-determination; unlawfully transferring and sharing personal data of Nigerian data subjects, including cross-border storage in contravention of then and current law; discriminatory practices, unequal treatment, and abuse of dominance.
“The Final Order of the Commission mandates steps and actions Meta Parties must take to comply with prevailing law and cease the exploitation of Nigerian consumers and their market abuse, as well as desist from future similar or other conduct/practices that do not meet nationally applicable standards and undermine the rights of consumers.
“The Final order also imposes a monetary penalty of Two Hundred and Twenty Million U.S. Dollars only ($220,000,000.00) (at prevailing exchange rate where applicable), which penalty is in accordance with the FCCPA 2018, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (Administrative Penalties) Regulations 2020 (APR).”, the statement partly reads.
The Commission declared that it is still dedicated to carrying out its separate mandates, which include safeguarding Nigerians’ privacy per the Constitution and all data protection laws and regulations, as well as ensuring that consumer rights are upheld and the markets function fairly and openly.
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Discontinuance of illegal ads lawsuit against Meta
Enforcing adherence to the legislation concerning data, competition (companies), and consumers is the responsibility of the Commission in cooperation with the NDPC.
This decision was made less than seven hours after the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and Meta Platforms Incorporated, the owners of the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, were the targets of an N30 billion alleged illegal advertisement lawsuit that the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed.
Following a notice of discontinuance filed by the plaintiff’s attorney, Barrister Micheal Okorie, Justice Peter Lifu dismissed ARCON’s complaint on Friday in suit no. FHC/ABJ/CS/1701/2022.