
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has slammed a $220 million fine on Meta platforms for violating data privacy laws.
The FCCPC said in a statement issued on Friday that Meta’s data-sharing practices on its Facebook and WhatsApp platforms breached local consumer and data protection regulations.
The FCCPC had published a report of the Investigative Panel (the Panel) set up by the agency regarding
potential violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act,
2018 (FCCPA), Nigerian Data Protection Regulation, 2019 (NDPR)1
, and enquiries into alleged obnoxious, exploitative, and unscrupulous practices by WhatsApp LLC,
Meta Platforms, Inc., and relevant affiliates (hereinafter referred to as ‘Parties’)
under the FCCPA.
Part of the issues investigated by the agency include regulatory questions and legal issues presented. Particularly the agency investigated whether WhatsApp’s 2021 Updated Privacy Policy (Policy) and business practices with respect to its data collection and management processes
are excessive, unscrupulous, obnoxious, or exploitative contrary to the
FCCPA rules, including the mandate under Section 17(a) regarding enforcing
other enactments on competition and consumer protection;
The agency also checked hether WhatsApp’s 2021 Updated Privacy Policy complied with
applicable standards under the FCCPA and the NDPR; and whether WhatsApp is dominant under the FCCPA; If affirmative, whether its practices (particularly, but not exclusively) with respect to the Policy
constituted an abuse of dominance.
The FCCPA on Friday published its conclusion and recommendations as contained in the report on the investigation.
“In conclusion, WhatsApp violated the rights of its users when it introduced its
Updated Privacy Policy, in a manner that is a clear departure from regulatory
provisions governing consent freely obtained, consent withdrawal,
discrimination of Nigerian users, tying and illegal transfer of data outside Nigeria
without the requisite permit”, the report read.
The report further read: “Furthermore, given that Meta Parties are dominant, the series of conduct
described above constitute abuse of dominance, due to the established network
effect, lock in effects, and market power, as well as user interface that prevented
consumers from switching.
“Panel recommends corrective outcomes (Penalties for infringement is
considered differently under the Administrative Penalties Regulations (APR) in
circumstances where the Commission will not seek criminal prosecution or
referral to the Office of the Honourable Attorney General for prosecution)”
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