Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has warned that Nigerians could lose access to these platforms due to hefty fines and what it called “unrealistic” regulatory demands from the Nigerian government.
In 2023, three Nigerian agencies imposed fines on Meta, totaling over $290 million (£218 million) for breaching various laws.
Meta’s attempt to challenge these fines in a federal high court in Abuja was unsuccessful.
“The applicant may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures,” the company stated in court documents.
While Meta also owns WhatsApp, the company did not mention it in the statement.
The court has set a deadline for Meta to pay the fines by the end of June.
The BBC has reached out to Meta for clarification on its next steps but has not received a response.
Facebook remains the dominant social media platform in Nigeria, used by millions for daily communication and sharing news. It is also essential for many small businesses in the country.
In July 2023, Meta was fined three times:
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) imposed a $220 million fine for anti-competitive practices.
The advertising regulator fined Meta $37.5 million for running unapproved advertisements.
The Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) fined Meta $32.8 million for data privacy violations.
FCCPC CEO Adamu Abdullahi explained that investigations conducted with the data commission from May 2021 to December 2023 found “invasive practices against data subjects/consumers in Nigeria,” though no specifics were given.
Meta’s court filing expressed concern over the data commission’s actions, accusing it of “misinterpreting” data privacy laws.
One major issue was the commission’s demand for Meta to obtain prior approval before transferring any personal data outside Nigeria, which Meta called “unrealistic.”
Additional demands were also imposed by the data commission.
Meta was required to add an icon linking to educational videos on data privacy risks, developed in collaboration with government-approved educational bodies and non-profit organizations.
The NDPC insisted that these videos should highlight the dangers of “manipulative and unfair data processing” that could expose Nigerian users to health and financial risks.
Meta criticized these demands, calling them unfeasible and accusing the NDPC of failing to “properly interpret the laws guiding data privacy.”
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