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A Nigerian Tribunal Ruled that Meta Must Pay a $220 Million Fine within 60 Days Due to Discriminatory Practices in the Country
A Nigerian tribunal has ruled that Meta must pay a $220 million fine within 60 days because of unfair treatment of Nigerian users. This decision came after a long investigation into how Meta and its WhatsApp service handled people’s personal data in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) started looking into Meta’s actions back in May 2021. They worked together with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to check if Meta was following the country’s laws about data protection and consumer rights. After 38 months of careful study, the FCCPC found that Meta was sharing Nigerian users’ data without proper permission. They also discovered discriminatory practices in the country, meaning Meta treated Nigerian users differently from people in other places.
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Because of these problems, the Nigerian tribunal ruled that Meta must pay a $220 million fine within 60 days. The tribunal also said Meta and WhatsApp must stop sharing Nigerian users’ data with other companies, including Facebook, without asking for permission. Meta has to bring back ways for Nigerians to control how their data is shared, just like they did in 2016.
Meta did not agree with the fine at first. They said the amount was too high and that the FCCPC’s rules were unclear and hard to follow under Nigerian law. Meta also argued that only the NDPC should handle data protection issues, not the FCCPC. But the tribunal did not accept these arguments. They said the FCCPC was right to act and that Meta had enough chances to explain itself.
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Besides paying the $220 million fine within 60 days, Meta must also send a report to the FCCPC and NDPC by July 1, 2025. This report should show how Meta is fixing the problems. Meta must also pay $35,000 to cover the costs of the investigation.
This ruling is very important because it shows Nigeria is serious about protecting its people’s data and making sure big companies follow the rules. It also warns other global companies that they must respect Nigerian laws and treat Nigerian consumers fairly.
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