The Federal Government may adopt a political solution in addressing the $220m data breach fine imposed on Meta by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
This is just as the Nigerian Data Protection Commission said on Tuesday that it plans to resolve the lingering data breach dispute with Meta Platforms Inc. through dialogue and collaboration.
The Chief Executive Officer and national commissioner of NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, said this at a one-day workshop for data protection officers in Abuja.
Olatunji said the commission’s approach was to engage organisations and seek amicable solutions rather than escalate matters unnecessarily.
“We are working with them (Meta) to see if we can resolve the issue. We don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. What we do today is to look at the issues — what do we need to resolve, and are they willing to do what is right? We have to look at political ways of solving it.”
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had imposed a fine of $220m on Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, for multiple data privacy violations.
The FCCPC said the penalty followed a joint investigation with the NDPC into Meta Platforms’ conduct, privacy policies, operations and practices between May 2021 and December 2023. In response, WhatsApp said it would appeal the fine and threatened to exit the country.
On April 25, the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal upheld the $220m fine the FCCPC imposed on Meta.
The Commission found that Meta Parties engaged in multiple and repeated infringements of the FCCPA (2018) and the NDPR.
These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions, and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies.
Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas ($1.5bn) and was only recently asked to pay $1.3bn for violating EU data privacy rules.
Elsewhere in India, South Korea, France and Australia, Meta had faced varying penalties for similar breaches.
However, the tech company responded with another threat to shut down the Nigerian operations of Facebook and Instagram.
In response, the FCCPC issued a statement telling Meta that its decision to quit Nigeria does not in any way absolve it from liability.
Speaking further, the data commission boss said plans are in place to resolve it and calm public anxiety.
“Even when you go to work, you see that there’s a right way to resolve issues. So, I’m sure we’re going to resolve it,” he added.
Also, at the workshop, the NDPC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mastercard to consolidate data protection capacity in Nigeria.
Olatunji also said the federal government was committed to increasing the number of certified DPOs with the required skills to manage data protection.
He said the workshop would be beneficial to both Nigeria and Mastercard, adding that the country had tech-savvy youths who are digital natives ready to explore.
