Tribunal upholds $220 million fine imposed on Meta and WhatsApp by FCCPC

The Nigerian Tribunal for Competition and Consumer Protection had ordered Meta Platforms, Inc. and its subsidiary WhatsApp LLC to pay a $220 million administrative penalty after being found guilty of data breaches and discriminatory practices. This was the outcome of an appeal hearing filed by Meta.

The companies were also ordered to pay an additional $35,000 to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) within the next 60 days as the cost of its investigation into the matter.

Recall that FCCPC, in collaboration with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), conducted an extensive investigation on the platforms over alleged violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019, and other relevant laws.

The investigation, which commenced in May 2021 and spanned 38 months, involved a thorough review of Meta’s conduct and privacy practices, focusing on potential breaches affecting Nigerian consumers. 

The tribunal’s three-member panel, led by Thomas Okosun, passed the verdict that the reliance on foreign decisions by the FCCPC is appropriate and persuasive in law. It also held that FCCPC orders were valid and carried out in line with the stipulated FCCPC Act and the Evidence Act, while Meta and WhatsApp failed to provide credible evidence to dispute the Commission’s findings.

Also Read: Meta introduces new measures to combat spam on Facebook.

While addressing the fair hearing clause tabled by WhatsApp, Okosun explained that the case was in favour of FCCPC due to the fair hearing system. He also reinstates FCCPC’s mandate to address market dominance within its jurisdiction.

“The appellants were given ample opportunity to be heard. The tribunal finds that the FCCPC did not exceed its powers while making orders in respect to data protection,” he added.

Meta and WhatsApp were found guilty of a data privacy breach, which violates Nigeria’s data protection laws.

“The tribunal finds no error in the overall orders of the FCCPC. Accordingly, the administrative penalties of the FCCPC were lawfully imposed on Meta and WhatsApp,” the tribunal held.

In its final decision, Meta and WhatsApp must reimburse the FCCPC $35,000 for its investigation and pay the $220 million fine no later than 60 days from Wednesday, April 30, 2025. 

It ordered Meta and WhatsApp to reinstate the right of Nigerian users to determine how their data is shared and submit a letter of compliance to this effect by July 1, 2025. Meta parties were also directed to submit a working policy within the next 10 days on how it intends to protect users’ data and revert to its data-sharing policy of 2016.

The tribunal again ruled that Meta parties must, within 10 days, provide their proposed policy to the FCCPC and NDPC, and the same must be published. The parties must also stop linking WhatsApp data to Facebook and other third parties without formally seeking and obtaining consent from Nigerian users and must provide evidence of compliance.

Meta and WhatsApp didn’t back down without a fight

The tribunal judgment further upholds FCCPC’s authority over its market, indicating another win for consumer rights on data privacy. 

While the sanctions were rolled out last year, Meta and WhatsApp appealed, citing 22 reasons, including alleged vague directives, unjustifiable data-sharing orders, and procedural errors. They further asked that the penalty be overturned.

At the sitting in January, WhatsApp and Meta’s legal team, led by Professor Gbolahan Elias (SAN), argued that the FCCPC denied them a fair hearing by imposing a hefty penalty without providing a chance to understand how the penalty fees were calculated. It noted that, as against the Commission’s order, creating a consent framework for its enormous number of Nigerian users is impossible and also expensive to run.

The FCCPC’s legal team, represented by Babatunde Irukera (SAN), urged the tribunal to uphold the Commission’s orders and dismiss the appeal while countering the Meta platform’s claims about foreign precedents, stating that while foreign law is not binding, it is persuasive in similar contexts.

Furthermore, FCCPC maintained in its argument that the $220 million penalty was based on its resolve to remedy the company’s alleged discriminatory practices rather than intentionally impose a financial punishment. It explained that investigations showed Meta and its subsidiary engaged in exploitative practices that violated constitutional laws by allowing unauthorised access and misuse of private information.

On both submissions, the tribunal ruled against Meta and WhatsApp because the appeal didn’t hold weight.

The case has further piled more pressure on the company, which finds itself embroiled in several legal tussles across the world.

This week, the European Union (EU) antitrust regulators fined iPhone maker Apple ($570 million) and Zuckerberg’s Meta ($227 million) in what it called a landmark legislation aimed at clamping down on the power of Big Tech companies following market monopoly allegations.

Another case filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged that Meta, which already owned Facebook, bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to eliminate competition and give itself a monopoly. If found guilty, the company will be forced to sell both platforms.