Users in Nigeria could be cut off from Facebook and Instagram after parent company Meta stated that it was threatened with huge fines and “unrealistic” regulatory requests from the Nigerian government.
Meta Faces Massive Fines in Nigeria
Three Nigerian regulatory bodies fined the US social media giant a total of over $290m (£218m) last year for contravening several laws and regulations.
Meta lost a bid in a recent attempt to appeal the rulings at the federal high court in Abuja.
“The applicant may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures,” the company said in the court papers.
Meta is the parent company of WhatsApp but made no reference to the messaging service in its announcement. The high court’s order is for the company to pay the fines by the end of June.
Facebook is the most widely used social media platform in Nigeria and is accessed by tens of millions of people in the country for everyday communication and news sharing. It is also an essential tool for most of Nigeria’s small online enterprises.
Breakdown of the Fines Against Meta
Last year, Meta was requested to pay three fines in July:
- The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) ordered a $220m fine for suspected anti-competitive behavior.
- The ad regulator hit the firm with a $37.5m fine for unauthorized advertising.
- Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission (NDPC) accused Meta of breaching data privacy regulations and imposed a $32.8m fine.
Allegations of Data Violations
FCCPC chief executive Adamu Abdullahi stated that investigations conducted in partnership with the data commission from May 2021 to December 2023 uncovered “invasive practices against data subjects/consumers in Nigeria” but did not detail what they were.
Meta wrote in its filing to the court that its “primary concern” was with the data commission, which it faulted for “misinterpreting” data privacy laws.
Meta’s Dispute Over Data Privacy Regulations
In particular, the commission has required Meta to obtain prior approval before exporting any personal data from Nigeria a requirement that Meta described as “unrealistic.”
The data commission also made other requirements.
Meta was instructed that it should offer an icon leading to learning videos regarding data privacy threats. Such content would be produced jointly with government-approved schools and non-profit groups.
The NDPC required these videos to emphasize the threats posed by “manipulative and unfair data processing” that may place Nigerian users at risk of health and financial hazards.
Meta termed the demands of the NDPC as unrealistic, stating that the agency has not “properly interpreted the laws governing data privacy.”
