Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has disclosed that it is confronted with substantial penalties and “unrealistic” regulatory requirements from the Nigerian government.
Consequently, users in Nigeria may be deprived of access to these platforms.
Last year, the US-based social media behemoth was subjected to sanctions totaling over $290 million (£218 million) by three Nigerian regulatory agencies for allegedly violating a variety of laws and regulations.
Meta’s most recent endeavor to contest the decisions of the federal high court in Abuja was unsuccessful.
The company stated in the court papers that “the applicant may be compelled to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures.”
WhatsApp is also owned by Meta; however, the messaging service was not referenced in its statement.
The company has been granted until the end of June by the high court to pay the penalties.
Meta has been requested by the BBC to specify its subsequent actions; however, it has yet to receive a response.
Facebook is the most widely used social media platform in Nigeria, with tens of millions of individuals utilizing it for daily communication and news dissemination. It is also an essential instrument for numerous modest online enterprises in Nigeria.
Meta was required to pay three fines in July of the previous year:
• The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) levied a $220 million penalty for purported anti-competitive activities.
• The company was fined $37.5 million by the advertising regulator for unapproved advertising.
• Additionally, the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) accused Meta of violating data privacy laws and imposed a fine of $32.8m.
Adamu Abdullahi, the chief executive officer of the FCCPC, stated that investigations conducted in collaboration with the data commission between May 2021 and December 2023 disclosed “invasive practices against data subjects/consumers in Nigeria.”
However, he did not provide any further details regarding the nature of these practices.
Meta’s “primary concern” in its court submission was the data commission, which it accused of “misinterpreting” data privacy laws.
Meta has deemed the commission’s requirement to obtain prior sanction prior to transmitting any personal data outside of Nigeria to be “unrealistic.”
Additionally, the data commission implemented additional requirements.
Meta was instructed to include an icon that links to educational videos regarding data privacy risks. This content would be developed in conjunction with government-approved educational institutions and non-profit organizations.
The NDPC was adamant that these videos underscore the hazards of “manipulative and unfair data processing” that could expose Nigerian users to financial and health risks.
Meta characterized the NDPC’s demands as unfeasible, asserting that the agency has failed to “properly interpret the laws guiding data privacy.”
