WhatsApp, a Meta-owned company, may suspend its operations in Nigeria following a $220 million fine imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for a data privacy breach.
Insiders reveal that Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, is considering withdrawing certain services from Nigeria in response to the stringent conditions set by the FCCPC. Apart from the hefty fine, the commission has mandated that WhatsApp stop sharing user data with other Facebook companies and third parties without explicit consent from users.
Furthermore, the FCCPC demands that WhatsApp disclose its data collection practices and enhance user control over how their data is used.
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In an email to TechCabal, a WhatsApp spokesperson commented, “We want to be clear that, technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally.” The spokesperson criticized the FCCPC’s directive, claiming it misrepresents WhatsApp’s data handling practices and would require extensive changes to the platform’s infrastructure.
Meta has yet to directly address the FCCPC’s concerns about the absence of user opt-out options in its 2021 privacy policy update. However, the company insists that the update does not involve the sharing of user data. Meta’s privacy policy 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 potential suspension of WhatsApp services in Nigeria could have profound implications for millions of users, including individuals and small businesses that rely on the platform for communication and customer engagement. The possible service withdrawal also affects other Meta-owned platforms like Instagram and Facebook, which are integral to many businesses in Nigeria.
Legal experts have raised questions about the FCCPC’s reliance on the National Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) as the basis for the fine.
Established in 2019 by the National Information Technology Development Agency, the NDPR is Nigeria’s primary data protection framework. However, two unnamed lawyers have expressed skepticism about the NDPR’s authority in this high-stakes context, questioning whether a government regulation can definitively settle privacy issues of this magnitude.
Moreover, two anonymous government officials have voiced concerns about the justification for the $220 million fine. An industry expert highlighted the potential economic impact, stating, “We are too revenue-focused. What is the opportunity cost of $220 million in government coffers?”
