The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said that Meta Platforms Inc’s threat to exit Nigeria will not stop commission from enforcing the company’s legal liabilities, particularly the payment of the N220 million fine recently slammed on it by the court.
Meta had last Saturday threatened that it “may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures.”
The tech firm’s warning came after it lost a legal bid last week to overturn a N220 million fine imposed by the FCCPC for violations of data protection and consumer rights laws in the country.
Reacting to Meta’s threat, the commission, in a X post the same day, described firm’s statement as a calculated move aimed at inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.
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It maintained that Meta’s threatening to leave Nigeria would not absolve the company from the liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process.
The FCCPC in the X post stated: “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”, it added.
