The Nigerian Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal has ordered WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta Platforms Incorporated, to pay a penalty of $220 million, in addition to a $35,000 reimbursement to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The fine is a consequence of what the tribunal deemed discriminatory practices affecting Nigerian users’ data.
The tribunal, under the leadership of Thomas Okosun in Nigeria, upheld the FCCPC’s penalty, rejecting appeals from WhatsApp and Meta, which had sought to overturn the decision.
The legal team, headed by Professor Gbolahan Elias (SAN), argued that the penalty was unjustified, pointing to vague directives, violations of Nigerian law, and an allegedly flawed process. They maintained that the $220 million fine was disproportionate and unsupported by Nigerian legislation.
However, the FCCPC, represented by Babatunde Irukera (SAN), stood firm asserting that the penalty was intended not as a punishment but as a remedy for the harm caused by Meta’s alleged data exploitation and violation of consumer rights in Nigeria.
The Commission had raised alarms over Meta’s invasive practices, claiming that the company misused private data and infringed upon Nigerian consumers’ rights.
In the midst of legal arguments, Meta argued that the fine should be annulled due to procedural errors, including the lack of clarity on the penalty’s calculation. The company’s legal team insisted that implementing the FCCPC’s requirements would be both technically impossible and financially burdensome.
But the tribunal ruled in favour of the FCCPC, highlighting that Meta had failed to provide substantial evidence to disprove the claims against them.
Okosun, delivering the verdict, clarified that the FCCPC had acted within its legal authority, emphasising that the regulatory body had conducted a fair hearing process, refuting WhatsApp’s allegations of unfair treatment.
In line with its ruling, the tribunal mandated that Meta reinstate Nigerian users’ right to control how their data is shared, with a compliance letter due by July 1, 2025.
WhatsApp must also revise its privacy policy to meet the commission’s requirements, ensuring explicit user consent for data sharing.
Furthermore, Meta has been instructed to cease sharing Nigerian users’ information with third parties, including Facebook, and revert to its 2016 data-sharing policy.
Alongside the financial penalty, Meta must also reimburse the FCCPC $35,000 for the investigation costs incurred. The tribunal has given the company 60 days, until April 30, 2025, to settle the $220 million fine.
Recently, large fines have been imposed on tech giants, particularly under data protection laws, with Meta already facing similar penalties in the European Union, not just Nigeria, and WhatsApp, on the other hand, has defended itself.
In a statement the platform stated that it had globally informed users about how interactions with businesses would be handled in 2021, despite initial confusion.
