Quitting Nigeria Does Not Absolve You From Liability, FCCPC Tells Meta
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on Saturday said that WhatsApp’s claim that it may be forced to exit Nigeria due to the FCCPC’s recent order appears to be a calculated move aimed at inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the Commission to reconsider its decision.
The FCCPC had investigated Meta Platforms and WhatsApp (jointly referred to as “Meta Parties”) for allegedly violating the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
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 personal 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 only recently was asked to pay $1.3bn for violating E.U. Data Privacy Rules.
Elsewhere in India, South Korea, France and Australia, Meta had faced varying penalties for similar breaches.
But the FCCPC in a statement said Meta never resorted to blackmail of threatening to exit those countries as the company obeyed.
The statement signed by the FCCPC Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu said the recent affirmation of FCCPC’s final order by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal requires Meta Parties to take steps to comply with Nigerian law, stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, change their practices to meet Nigerian standards and respect consumer rights, consistent with international best practices.
The statement said, “Threatening to leave Nigeria does not absolve Meta of liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the FCCPC remains committed in its pursuit of consumer protection and data privacy towards ensuring a fairer digital market in Nigeria.”
ENDS
Quitting Nigeria Does Not Absolve You From Liability, FCCPC Tells Meta is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
