By Ayo Kehinde
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said that Meta Platforms Inc. cannot evade legal accountability by threatening to leave Nigeria, insisting that quitting the country does not absolve the tech giant—owners of Facebook and WhatsApp—of liability.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the Commission described WhatsApp’s threat to exit Nigeria following a recent court ruling as a calculated attempt to stir negative public sentiment and pressure regulators into reversing their stance.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal on April 25, 2025, upheld a $220 million fine imposed on Meta for violations of Nigerian consumer protection, data privacy laws, and international human rights standards.
The ruling followed an administrative penalty earlier slammed on Meta by the FCCPC on July 19, 2024, after a 38-month joint investigation with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) found the company guilty of discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian users.
“The Commission investigated Meta Platforms and WhatsApp (jointly referred to as ‘Meta Parties’) for multiple and repeated violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR),” the statement read.
According to the FCCPC, the infractions included denying Nigerians control over their personal data, unauthorized sharing of user data, discriminatory treatment compared to users in other countries, and abuse of dominant market position through the imposition of unfair privacy policies.
The Commission noted that Meta had faced similar penalties globally, including $1.5 billion in Texas and $1.3 billion in the European Union for data privacy violations. “In India, South Korea, France, and Australia, Meta complied with sanctions and never resorted to blackmail or threats of exit,” the FCCPC stated.
The Commission maintained that the Tribunal’s ruling now mandates Meta to comply with Nigerian laws, cease exploitative practices, align its operations with national standards, and uphold the rights of Nigerian consumers in line with global best practices.
“Threatening to leave Nigeria does not erase the outcome of a judicial process or exempt Meta from its legal obligations,” the Commission added.
Reaffirming its resolve, the FCCPC said it remains committed to protecting consumers and enforcing data privacy to promote a fairer digital market in Nigeria.
