The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission—FCCPC— operates within the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and is responsible for protecting market competition and promoting consumer protection.
The FCCPC in a statement released on Saturday headlined “Quitting Nigeria Does Not Absolve Meta of Liability,” explained that META company has circulated a false narrative on why it may quit the country, aimed at generating negative reaction towards the commission.
The commission pointed out that META had violated the Consumers’ Protection Regulation which includes denying its Nigerian market the right to control their personal data and forcing unfair privacy policies on them among others.
Ondaje Ijagwu Director, Corporate Affairs in the statement revealed that Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas, India, South Korea, France and Australia and faced the consequences of the breeches and never threatened to leave those countries, rather it paid the fines leveled on it.
That threatening to leave Nigeria does not absolve it “of liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process.”
The statement read: “ WhatsApp’s claim that it may be forced to exit Nigeria due to FCCPC’s recent order appears to be a calculated move aimed at inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.
“The FCCPC investigated Meta Platforms and WhatsApp (jointly referred to as “Meta Parties”) for allegedly violating the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
“The Commission found that Meta Parties engaged in multiple and repeated infringements of the FCCPA (2018) and the NDPR. These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies.
“Interestingly, Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas ($1.5b) and only recently was asked to pay $1.3 Billion for violating E.U. Data Privacy Rules. Elsewhere in India, South Korea, France and Australia, Meta had faced varying penalties for similar breaches. But Meta never resorted to the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries. They obeyed.
“The recent affirmation of FCCPC’s final order by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal requires Meta Parties to take steps to comply with Nigerian law, stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, change their practices to meet Nigerian standards and respect consumer rights, consistent with international best practices.
“Threatening to leave Nigeria does not absolve Meta of liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the FCCPC remains committed in its pursuit of consumer protection and data privacy towards ensuring a fairer digital market in Nigeria.” It added.
By: Adeoye Olorunseun Elizabeth
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