The Federal Government has said that the threat by Meta, owner of WhatsApp, to exit Nigeria due to a recent order will not exonerate the company from the outcome of a judicial process.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission made this known in a statement it issued to newsmen on Saturday.
The statement, signed by Ondaje Ijagwu FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, said Meta Parties should take steps to comply with Nigeria’s law.
Ijagwu described the threat as a calculated move aimed at inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.
He said the recent affirmation of FCCPC’s final order by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal required Meta Parties to stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, and change their practices to meet Nigerian standards consistent with international best practices.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal had awarded $220 million against Meta Platforms Incorporated and WhatsApp LLC as an administrative penalty for the violations.
NAN recalls that the tribunal further awarded $35,000 to the FCCPC as cost of investigation.
Ijagwu said: “The FCCPC 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.
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“These infringements include denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation.
“Others are discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies.”
Ijagwu said that Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas, United States of America ($1.5 billion) and was only recently asked to pay $1.3 billion for violating European Union Data Privacy Rules.
He said that Meta had faced penalties in India, South Korea, France, and Australia for similar breaches.
According to him, Meta never resorted to the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries.
Rather, it obeyed.
Ijagwu said that the FCCPC remained committed in its pursuit of consumer protection and data privacy toward ensuring a fairer digital market in the country.
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