Nigeria fines Meta $220 million for violating data protection and consumer rights laws

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s government on Friday announced a fine of $220 million on Meta, saying its investigations found “multiple and repeated” violations of the country’s data protection and consumer rights laws on Facebook and WhatsApp.

A statement from Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, or FCCPC, listed five ways that Meta violated data laws in the West African country, including by sharing the data of Nigerians without authorization, denying consumers the right to self-determine the use of their data, discriminatory practices as well as abuse of market dominance.

“Being satisfied with the significant evidence on the record, and that Meta Parties have been provided every opportunity to articulate any position … the Commission has now entered a Final Order, and issued a penalty against Meta Parties,” FCCPC chief executive Adamu Abdullahi said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country, also has one of the world’s highest number of internet users with 154 million active subscribers in 2022, according to the country’s statistics agency.

Despite the high number of internet users in the country, Meta has failed to comply with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, has failed to engage a Data Protection Compliance Organization and hasn’t filed the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation audit report for two years, the consumer protection agency said.

In addition to the $220 million fine, the agency’s order mandated Meta to comply with local laws and cease the “exploitation” of Nigerian consumers.

The investigation into the reported abuses first commenced in May 2021 when the agency opened an inquiry into WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy. It later informed Meta of its findings, after which the company proposed a “remedy package” that failed to address initial concerns, the statement said.