Nigeria Unshaken By WhatsApp’s Exit Threat

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) disagrees with claims that its recent penalty order and fine on WhatsApp could force the platform out of Nigeria.

The commission also noted that WhatsApp’s claim that it may be forced out of Nigeria due to its recent order is aimed at influencing public opinion and “potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.”

The regulator was responding to a report that revealed WhatsApp was considering withdrawing some of its services in the country. On Thursday, TechCabal reported that a WhatsApp spokesperson said, “We want to be really clear that technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally.

“This order contains multiple inaccuracies and misrepresents how WhatsApp works. WhatsApp relies on limited data to run our service and keep users safe, and it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally without Meta’s infrastructure. We are urgently appealing the order to avoid any impact on users.”

According to Yahoo Finance, 51 million Nigerians were using WhatsApp as of February 2024. In July, the FCCPC demanded that Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, pay $220 million for an alleged data privacy violation.

The FCCPC stated that Meta was found guilty of denying Nigerians the right to self-determination, unauthorized data transfer and sharing, discrimination and disparate treatment, abuse of dominance, and tying and bundling.

In response to WhatsApp’s claims on Thursday, the Commission said its actions were driven by legitimate consumer protection and data privacy concerns. It emphasized that its final order requires Meta to comply with Nigerian consumer standards and meet local regulations.

“Similar measures are taken in other jurisdictions without forcing companies to leave the market. The case of Nigeria will not be different,” the FCCPC added.

Meta is currently appealing its largest fine in Africa. A recent report revealed that the tech giant has listed 22 reasons for the appeal, including vague directives, unjustifiable data-sharing orders, and procedural errors, arguing why the case should be dismissed.

Babatunde Irukera, the FCCPC’s former chairman, noted on X, “The same company just settled a Texas case for $1.4 billion and is currently facing regulatory action in at least a dozen nations, appealing large penalties in several countries. How many has it threatened to exit?”