The Director of Marketing of the telecommunications firm, Ismail Adeshina, made this known in a statement issued on Friday in Lagos.
Browsing: Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC)
The Head of Corporate Communication of Ikeja Electric, Kingsley Okotie, revealed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The confirmation followed the presentation and consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, chaired by Senator Umar Sadiq, during Tuesday’s plenary.
Violations: Tribunal upholds FCCPC’s $220m fine against Meta, WhatsApp
Adenle Ahmed Abiola
The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal has ordered WhatsApp and Meta Platforms Incorporated to pay a $220 million and $35,000 penalties to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) within 60 days over data discrimination practices in Nigeria.
Delivering its judgement, the tribunal upheld the $220 million penalty imposed by the FCCPC on WhatsApp and Meta Platforms Incorporated.
The same order also goes for $35,000 as reimbursement for the Commission’s investigation against the social media giant.
The tribunal also dismissed the appeal of WhatsApp and Meta Platforms Incorporated regarding the $220 million penalty imposed by the FCCPC for alleged discriminatory practices in Nigeria.
The tribunal’s three-member panel, led by Thomas Okosun, passed the verdict on Friday.
WhatsApp and Meta’s legal team, led by Professor Gbolahan Elias (SAN), and the FCCPC’s legal team, represented by Babatunde Irukera (SAN), a former Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, made their final arguments on behalf of their respective clients on January 28, 2025.
WhatsApp and Meta Platforms Incorporated had appealed to the tribunal, arguing that the FCCPC’s $220 million penalty should be overturned, citing 22 reasons, including alleged vague directives, unjustifiable data-sharing orders, and procedural errors.
The appellants claimed that the FCCPC’s demands were vague, technically impossible to implement within the stipulated time frame, and unsupported by Nigerian law.
The fine imposed by the FCCPC was sequel to an investigation into alleged violations of data protection and consumer rights by Meta and WhatsApp.
The Commission expressed concerns about Meta’s allegedly abusive and invasive practices affecting data subjects and consumers in Nigeria.
In their appeal, the appellants argued that the FCCPC denied them a fair hearing by imposing a hefty penalty without giving them an opportunity to understand how the penalty would be calculated or to respond to the calculation of the proposed amount.
The appellants contended that, contrary to the FCCPC’s compliance order, identifying and building a consent mechanism for each data point processed by Nigerian users would be impossible and extremely expensive.
In a counter argument, the FCCPC maintained that the $220 million penalty was based on its resolve to remedy the company’s alleged discriminatory practices rather than impose a financial punishment.
The Commission also highlighted its findings, which revealed that Meta engaged in exploitative practices that violated constitutional guarantees by allowing unauthorized access to and misuse of private information.
Elias, SAN, had urged the tribunal not to rely on foreign laws that are not applicable in Nigeria, maintaining there is no abuse of dominance since users can choose from other providers such as TikTok and Google Meet.
In response, Irukera urged the tribunal to uphold the Commission’s orders and dismiss the appeal in its entirety.
He countered the appellants’ claims about foreign precedents, stating that while foreign law is not binding, it is persuasive in similar contexts.
The FCCPC also sought the tribunal’s leave to transfer the Commission’s “entire record within its custody” to the panel to support a fair and transparent adjudication of the dispute.
Delivering its verdict, the tribunal stated that the reliance on foreign decisions by the FCCPC is appropriate and persuasive in law.
The tribunal partially blocked the FCCPC’s entire record, which it sought to tender, while allowing its internal memo, email from Udo Udoma Law Firm, and an internal memo dated May 7, 2024, as supplementary records of appeal.
The tribunal held that the final and supplementary orders of the FCCPC were validly executed in line with the FCCPC Act and the Evidence Act.
The tribunal also held that WhatsApp and Meta did not provide any substantial evidence to dispute the FCCPC’s findings.
Regarding WhatsApp’s allegations of fair hearing, Okosun stated that the issue was resolved in favor of the FCCPC because the Commission had accorded a fair hearing to the social media giants.
“The appellants were given ample opportunity to be heard,” Okosun said.
“The tribunal finds that the FCCPC did not exceed its powers while making orders in respect to data protection,” the tribunal said, adding that the FCCPC acted within its lawful mandate to address market dominance.
The tribunal found that Meta and WhatsApp were wrong to transfer data of consumers to a third party, which contravened Nigeria’s data protection laws.
The tribunal agreed with the FCCPC that the privacy policy of WhatsApp and Meta breached Nigerian laws.
“The tribunal finds no error in the overall orders of the FCCPC,” the tribunal held.
“Accordingly, the administrative penalties of the FCCPC were lawfully imposed on Meta and WhatsApp,” the tribunal held.
Reacting to the landmark judgement in a statement on Friday, FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Mr. Tunji Bello, thanked the Commission’s legal team for their exceptional diligence and forensic skills in assembling evidence and marshalling their argument.
He restated FCCPC’s unwavering commitment to not only championing the rights of Nigerian consumers but also ensuring fair business practices in the country in accordance with FCCPA (2018) and consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of the Commission, Babatunde Irukera.