Nigeria’s Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) has suspended the $220 million fine imposed on WhatsApp and its parent company Meta.
This fine was issued last year in July by the Nigeria Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). Meta and WhatsApp argue that the FCCPC should not be involved in this matter, as data protection falls under the jurisdiction of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
They also accuse the FCCPC of making unrealistic demands, such as establishing a separate consent mechanism for every data point processed for Nigerian users. Additionally, they argue that the fine is excessive, claiming it is larger than the budgets of some Nigerian states.
Led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Professor Gbolahan Elias, Meta’s legal team argued that the fine is unreasonable, the FCCPC’s directives are vague and impossible to implement, and that it violates the country’s laws.
The fine stems from the accusation that Meta and WhatsApp allowed unauthorized access to user data. According to the FCCPC, Meta provides high-quality data protection in Europe, but fails to meet the same standards in Nigeria.
The FCCPC requested to submit its full investigation records to the tribunal for transparency, but Meta objected. Meta claimed that the records contained new documents they had not seen during the appeal process. They argued that this would complicate the case and undermine the fairness of the appeal.
Previously, Meta had been fined €1.2 billion by the European Union for failing to comply with privacy rules. However, the FCCPC is not backing down. Speaking on behalf of the Commission, Babatunde Irukera defended the fine, pointing out that Meta earned $134.9 billion in revenue in 2023, so complying with the rules should not be a problem for them.
The tribunal has not yet announced a final ruling.