The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has rejected claims that its recent penalty order and fine on WhatsApp could drive the platform out of Nigeria.
The commission pointed out that WhatsApp’s suggestion of being forced out of Nigeria due to the order is an attempt to sway public opinion and pressure the FCCPC to reverse its decision.
This response came after a report indicating that WhatsApp was considering reducing its services in the country. On Thursday, Techcabal reported that a WhatsApp spokesperson said, “We want to be really clear that technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally.
“This order contains multiple inaccuracies and misrepresents how WhatsApp works. WhatsApp relies on limited data to run our service and keep users safe, and it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally without Meta’s infrastructure. We are urgently appealing the order to avoid any impact on users.”
According to Yahoo Finance, 51 million Nigerians were on WhatsApp as of February 2024. In July, the FCCPC directed Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, to pay $220 million for an alleged data privacy breach.
The commission accused Meta of denying Nigerians the right to self-determine, unauthorized data transfer and sharing, discrimination and disparate treatment, abuse of dominance, and tying and bundling.
The FCCPC noted that its decision came after a 38-month joint investigation with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
In response to WhatsApp’s claims on Thursday, the commission emphasized that its actions were driven by legitimate consumer protection and data privacy concerns. It stated that its final order requires Meta to comply with Nigerian consumer standards.
“Similar measures are taken in other jurisdictions without forcing companies to leave the market. The case of Nigeria will not be different,” the FCCPC added.
Meta is currently appealing its largest fine in Africa, citing 22 reasons, including vague directives, unjustifiable data-sharing orders, and procedural errors, as grounds for the case to be overturned.
Babatunde Irukera, the FCCPC’s former chairman, noted on X, “The same company just settled a Texas case for $1.4 billion and is currently facing regulatory action in at least a dozen nations, appealing large penalties in several countries. How many has it threatened to exit?”
