Following investigations that revealed data-sharing on Facebook and WhatsApp platforms breached local consumer, data protection, and privacy regulations, the Federal Government fined Meta Platforms $220 million.
This was said on Friday by Dr. Adamu Abdullahi, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) acting chief executive officer.
According to him, Meta used its market dominance, took advantage of the data of Nigerian users on its platforms without their permission, and treated Nigerians differently and unfairly than those in other countries with comparable laws.
Meta refrained from commenting right away, but the FCCPC stated in a statement that the business had given some papers and had hired attorneys who had interacted with the agency.
The investigations, which lasted more than 38 months, were conducted in tandem with Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission, according to FCCPC chief Abdullahi.
According to Abdullahi, the investigations revealed that Meta policies do not give users the choice or chance to decide for themselves whether or not to provide consent for the collection, use, and sharing of personal data.
“The totality of the investigation has concluded that Meta over the protracted period of time has engaged in conduct that constituted multiple and repeated, as well as continuing infringements… particularly, but not limited to abusive, and invasive practices against data subjects in Nigeria,” Abdullahi said.
“Being satisfied with the significant evidence on the record, and that Meta has been provided every opportunity to articulate any position, representations, refutations, explanations or defences of their conduct, the Commission have now entered a final order and issued a penalty against Meta.”
According to Abdullahi, the final order specifies the procedures that Meta must follow in order to abide by local laws.
Turkey’s Competition Board penalized Meta 1.2 billion lira in May after looking into data-sharing on the company’s WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads services.
Meta has encountered opposition in Europe and other regions due to purported violations of data privacy regulations. Europe has expressed disapproval of Meta’s proposal to develop its artificial intelligence algorithms using personal data without obtaining authorization.
