Pius Nsabe
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, says the threat by WhatsApp to exit Nigeria over the Commission’s recent order will not exonerate the company from the outcome of a judicial process.
In a statement by its Director, Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, on Saturday in Abuja, FCCPC said the Meta Parties should take steps to comply with Nigeria’s law.
Ijagwu said the threat was a calculated move aimed at inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.
According to him, the recent affirmation of FCCPC’s final order by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal required Meta Parties to stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, and change their practices to meet Nigerian standards consistent with international best practices.
Recall that Ijagwu had said that the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal had awarded 220 million dollars against Meta Platforms Incorporated and WhatsApp LLC as an administrative penalty for the violations.
Meta had threatened to shut down its Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in protest of the large fines imposed by multiple government agencies.
It will also be recalled that the tribunal further awarded 35,000 dollars to the FCCPC as the cost of investigation.”
The FCCPC investigated Meta Platforms and WhatsApp (jointly referred to as “Meta Parties”) for allegedly violating the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, FCCPA, and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, NDPR.”
The Commission found that Meta Parties engaged in multiple and repeated infringements of the FCCPA (2018) and the NDPR.These infringements include denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation.”
Others are discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies,” he said.
According to Ijagwu, Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas (1.5 billion dollars ) and only recently was asked to pay 1.3 billion dollars for violating European Union, EU, Data Privacy Rules.He reiterated that Meta had faced penalties in India, South Korea, France and Australia for similar breaches.
The Commission’s director further stated that Meta never resorted to the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries rather, they obeyed.He expressed the Commission’s commitment in its pursuit of consumer protection and data privacy toward ensuring a fairer digital market in the country.
As Nigerians watch how the debacle plays out, it is hoped that both parties will be able to come to a compromise. While Meta provides services that have become essential to the soul of business in Nigeria, Nigeria on the other hand provides one of the largest markets for Meta to thrive. The expectations, therefore, is to see both sides resolve the issue in a win-win manner for both sides.
