The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal has upheld the $220 million fine imposed on Meta Platforms Incorporated by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC.
The Director for Corporate Affairs of FCCPC, Ondaje Ijagwu, made this announcement in a statement on Friday.
Ijagwu said that the tribunal also awarded the commission $35,000 to cover the investigation costs.
DAILY POST reports that Meta and WhatsApp appealed the fine imposed by the FCCPC after the regulator concluded that the companies engaged in discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian consumers.
The fine arose from a 38-month joint investigation initiated by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NDPC, into the conduct, privacy practices, and consumer data policies of Meta Platforms and WhatsApp.
The statement read in part, “The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal today delivered its judgment in the appeal filed by Meta Platforms Incorporated (Facebook) and WhatsApp LLC against the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), affirming the Commission’s authority and actions in nearly all the contested issues.
“The Tribunal specifically determined that the Commission complied with prevailing laws, discharged its mandate, and exercised its powers within the confines of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It ruled that the multiple actions by WhatsApp and Meta, for which the Commission made findings of violations, were correctly identified, and that the Commission did not err in making those findings.
“In addition to upholding the major aspects of the FCCPC’s Final Order, the Tribunal awarded the sum of $220 million against Meta Platforms Incorporated and WhatsApp LLC as an administrative penalty, and further awarded $35,000 to the FCCPC as cost of investigation.”
Recall that the FCCPC had on 19 July 2024 issued a Final Order imposing a $220 million administrative penalty after concluding that the companies engaged in discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian consumers.
The case arose from a 38-month joint investigation initiated by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NDPC, into the conduct, privacy practices, and consumer data policies of Meta Platforms and WhatsApp.
