Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has warned that it may be forced to shut down the two social media platforms in Nigeria, following hefty regulatory fines and what it described as “unrealistic” demands from the authorities.
The tech giant issued the warning in a court filing seen by the BBC.
On July 19, 2024, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) imposed a fine of $220 million on Meta, also the parent company of WhatsApp, for multiple data privacy violations.
The case reportedly stemmed from a 38-month joint investigation by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into the privacy practices and consumer data policies of WhatsApp and Meta.
However, Meta said it would appeal the fine.
On April 25, the competition and consumer protection tribunal upheld the $220 million fine imposed on Meta by the FCCPC.
The court gave the company until the end of June to comply with the orders.
According to the BBC report on Friday, Meta said it may have to “effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures”.
Although Meta also owns WhatsApp, the company did not include the instant messaging platform in its court filing.
The report said Meta’s primary grievance is with the NDPC, which it accused of misinterpreting Nigeria’s data protection laws.
While NDPC alleged Meta had violated data privacy laws and fined it $32.8 million, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) fined the company $37.5 million over unapproved advertising.
The BBC said the commission insisted that Meta must seek prior approval before transferring Nigerian users’ data abroad – a demand the company called “unrealistic”.
The NDPC had also directed Meta to develop and display educational content on data privacy risks through a dedicated icon on its platforms.
The videos are expected to be produced in collaboration with government-approved institutions and non-profit organisations, and should address issues around manipulative and unfair data processing.
However, the publication said Meta pushed back, describing the conditions as “unworkable” and asserting that the agency has failed to properly interpret the country’s data laws.
On its part, the FCCPC had said the fines were the result of investigations carried out between May 2021 and December 2023 in collaboration with the NDPC.
Meta is yet to publicly confirm its next course of action.
