Meta will appeal $220m fine by Nigerian govt – WhatsApp

Meta will appeal $220m fine by Nigerian govt – WhatsApp

WhatsApp says its parent body, Meta, will be appealing the $220 million fine imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) regarding its violation of Nigeria’s data privacy laws.

The organisation, Whatsapp, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

It said: “We disagree with the decision today as well as the fine and Meta will be appealing the decision.

“In 2021, we went to users globally to explain how talking to businesses among other things would work and while there was a lot of confusion then, it has proven quite popular,” the organisation said.

NAN reports that the reaction follows a statement released by the FCCPC and signed by its acting Executive Chairman, Adamu Abdullahi, saying that Meta had denied Nigerian users control over their data.

The FCCPC said that Meta had also shared the users data without consent, and abused its market dominance.

According to the statement released to the media, the FCCPC’s final order imposed a monetary penalty of two hundred and twenty million U.S. Dollars only, on Meta.

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The penalty is by the FCCPA 2018, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (Administrative Penalties) Regulations 2020,” the statement said.

The FCCPC announced that it initiated its investigation in May 2021, based on evidence suggesting that Meta, through its platforms, had breached the provisions of the FCCPA 2018 and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019.

It stated that these regulations were in effect prior to the enactment and implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.

The competition protection body noted that Meta responded to document requests and summons by providing some information.