Nigeria has imposed a $220 million fine on US group Meta, head quarter of Facebook and WhatsApp, for “multiple and repeated” violations of data protection and consumer rights, according to the authorities. This decision was taken after an investigation of more than three years into the giant’s practices in the country. In a statement published on July 19, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) accused Meta of violating Nigerian laws guaranteeing personal data protection on Facebook and WhatsApp.
According to the statement signed by FCCPC Director General Adamu Abdullahi, the investigation, conducted between May 2021 and December 2023 by the FCCPC in conjunction with Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission, found that Meta had “invasive practices” in the country with regard to data and consumer protection. The findings of the investigation point to five facts against Meta: denying Nigerians a choice in data sharing, transferring and sharing personal data of Nigerian users outside the country in violation of the law, abuse of dominant position, and discrimination and disparate treatment.
In addition to the heavy fine, Meta must
“comply with the law and cease exploiting Nigerian consumers and market abuse, and refrain from any future conduct or similar practices that do not meet the criteria applicable in the country, says Adamu Abdullahi, Managing Director of FCCPC.
Another accusation of failure to protect personal data
This accusation has not gone down well with the American giant.
“We are contesting this decision and the fine, and we are calling,
said a WhatsApp spokesperson in an e-mail to AFP, according to Rfi. As a reminder, the American giant has been facing an increasing number of lawsuits of this kind for several months now. On the continent, South Africa was the first to take action. At the beginning of July, it was the European Union that nabbed Meta for violating rules on the use of personal data.
164.3 million Nigerians connected to the Internet
In March 2024, Nigeria had around 164.3 million internet subscribers, according to the National Communications Commission (NCC) website. Meta platforms – WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram – are among the most popular in the country. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, estimated in December that there were over 51 million WhatsApp users in Nigeria. On April 18, 2024, Meta announced a new version of its AI for 7 sub-Saharan African countries, with the aim of “democratizing” the technology.
The countries concerned are Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. According to the announcements, it is an assistant available in private messages on social networks such as Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. Meta rekindles competition in the AI sector in Africa dominated by Microsoft (which t has integrated OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its Bing search engine) or Google (which has integrated AI into products such as Docs, Gmail and Google Search).
37 African countries have a national data protection law In Africa, the protection of personal data has become a growing concern as the continent has become increasingly digitalized over the years. In the early 2000s, some pioneering African countries began to take an interest in the challenges of personal data protection. In response, several African countries have begun to introduce laws and regulations governing the collection, processing and storage of personal data. To date, out of 54 African countries, 37 have a national data protection law. These are : Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina-Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Ivory-Coast, Egypt; Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
