WhatsApp may exit Nigeria over $220m fine

• Published On: 01 August 2024 at 16:59

One week after Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission fined WhatsApp $220 million for a data privacy violation, the firm may halt operations in the country owing to additional regulatory demands.

According to sources familiar with the matter, WhatsApp's parent company, Meta, is considering withdrawing certain services from Nigeria.

Along with the significant punishment, the FCCPC ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with other Facebook firms and third parties without specific user consent. The commission also demands WhatsApp to reveal information regarding its data gathering practices and give users more control over their data usage.

In response, a WhatsApp spokeswoman told TechCabal: "We want to make it clear that, technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally." The spokesman criticised the FCCPC's ruling as faulty, claiming that it misrepresents WhatsApp's data processing and would need extensive changes to the platform's infrastructure.

Meta has not responded to the FCCPC's charges about user opt-out options in the 2021 privacy policy, but insists that the change does not include exchanging user data. The business's policy on privacy states: "While traditionally mobile carriers and operators store this information, we believe that keeping these records for two billion users would be both a privacy and security risk and we don't do it."

The prospective suspension of WhatsApp might have serious consequences for individuals and small businesses in Nigeria, many of whom rely on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook for consumer engagement.

Some privacy lawyers have questioned the FCCPC's use of the National Data Protection Regulation as the basis for the sanction. The National Information Technology Development Agency enacted the NDPR in 2019, which serves as Nigeria's primary data protection policy. Two unnamed lawyers have expressed concerns about the NDPR's authority in such a high-stakes case, questioning whether a government policy can be considered decisive in privacy matters.

Furthermore, two unnamed government officials have expressed doubts about the justice of the $220 million penalties. "We are overly revenue-focused. "What is the opportunity cost of $220 million in government coffers?" said an industry expert.

If WhatsApp chooses to cease its activities in Nigeria in response to these requests, both the FCCPC and the Nigerian government would face intense scrutiny and consequences.