As a form of protest against the hefty fines levied by various government agencies, Meta may suspend its Instagram and Facebook services in Nigeria.
Following regulatory demands that Meta deemed as “unrealistic,” the tech giant was sentenced to pay fines totaling over $300 million in Africa’s most populated nation.
Allegedly engaging in exploitative and discriminatory activities towards Nigerian customers, Meta was fined $220 million in July 2024 by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
Meta was blamed by the commission for not having a Data Protection Compliance Organisation and for not having submitted an audit report for the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation for two years in a row.
Similarly, the NDPC announced a fine of $32.8 million for an alleged data privacy violation, and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) requested $37.5 million for unapproved advertising.
The Federal High Court in Abuja affirmed the sanctions in a ruling given last week, despite Meta’s unsuccessful challenge.
Despite the court’s order for payment compliance by June 30th, BBC reports that Meta has hinted it might not meet this deadline.
“The applicant may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures,” the corporation wrote in court documents.
The business claimed the NDPC had misunderstood the “laws guiding data privacy” when it claimed Meta’s data processing may put Nigerian users at risk of health problems and financial losses.