August 2, 2024.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has ordered WhatsApp to comply with Nigerian law or face exit from the market.
The agency investigated WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta Platforms, for violating consumer protection and data privacy laws.
The Commission found that Meta Parties engaged in multiple and repeated infringements of the FCCPA and the NDPR. These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies.
The final order requires Meta Parties to take steps to comply with Nigerian law, stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, change their practices to meet Nigerian standards and respect consumer rights.
To deter future violations and ensure accountability for the alleged infringements the FCCPC also imposed a monetary penalty of $220 million.
The FCCPC’s actions are based on legitimate concerns about consumer protection and data privacy and the order is a positive step towards a fairer digital market in Nigeria. Similar measures are taken in other jurisdictions without forcing companies to leave the market. The case of Nigeria will not be different.
