Meta fined $220 by Nigerian government
Meta, which is the parent company of social media giants Facebook and WhatsApp, has been fined $220m by Nigerian authorities for “multiple and repeated” breaching of consumer and data protection laws.
In a statement on 19 July 2024, Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Ag. executive vice president/CEO Dr Adamu Abdullahi detailed the findings of an extensive investigation.
The investigation was conducted in collaboration with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission from May 2021 to December 2023.
What did Nigeria accuse Meta of?
Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Friday accused Meta of discriminatory practices, abuse of market dominance, sharing Nigerians’ personal data without authorization and denying Nigerians the right to determine how their data is used.
It said it had “significant evidence on the record” after launching a 38-month investigation in May 2021.
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FCCPC chief executive officer Adamu Abdullahi said investigations carried out by the commission showed that Meta had engaged in “invasive practices against data subjects in Nigeria.”
Abdullahi said the tech giant must “comply with the prevailing law and cease the exploitation of Nigerian consumers and their market abuse.”
The commission ordered the firm to “desist from future similar or other conduct/practices that do not meet nationally applicable standards.”
The FCCPC said that Meta was aware of the commission’s investigations into the firm. It said Meta proposed a “remedy package” that failed to address initial concerns.
Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news agencies