The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Meta Platforms Inc., has issued a warning that growing regulatory pressure and what it described as “unrealistic” government expectations may compel it to shut down Facebook and Instagram operations in Nigeria.
The warning was sent in a court document that the BBC was able to get.
Meta is still battling a $220 million fine from Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for alleged violations of data privacy.
The fine comes after a 38-month joint investigation into Meta’s and WhatsApp’s data practices by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and the FCCPC.
Meta has vowed to fight the competition and consumer protection tribunal’s April 25 decision upholding the penalties. The business has until the end of June to comply, according to the court.
In the filing, Meta indicated that to “mitigate the risk of enforcement measures”, it may have to “effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria.” Notably, the company made no mention of WhatsApp in the court document.
According to the BBC, Meta’s main grievances are with the NDPC, which it claims is misinterpreting the nation’s data protection regulations.
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) levied a supplementary $37.5 million penalty for what it described as inappropriate advertising content, and the NDPC penalised Meta $32.8 million for suspected privacy violations in addition to the FCCPC penalties.
Among the regulatory demands is a requirement that Meta obtain prior approval before transferring Nigerian users’ data abroad—a condition the company deems “unrealistic”.
The NDPC has also ordered Meta to create and display educational content on data privacy risks via a dedicated icon on its platforms. These videos are to be co-produced with approved institutions and non-profits and must address manipulative and unfair data processing practices.
Meta has pushed back against these directives, describing them as “unworkable” and asserting that the Nigerian authorities have failed to properly interpret their own data laws.
The FCCPC maintains that the fines are the result of thorough investigations conducted between May 2021 and December 2023 in partnership with the NDPC.
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