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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) hit the attack at Meta Platforms Inc, warning the tech giant that its threat to withdraw from Nigeria will not remove legal liability or liability under Nigerian law.
Meta said earlier today on May 3 that “it may be forced to effectively close Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria to mitigate the risks of law enforcement measures.”
Meta’s warning was issued after losing statutory bids last week to overturn FCCPC’s fine of 220 million in violation of data protection and consumer rights laws.
The FCCPC responded to the threat from Meta in a statement Saturday, May 3, calling Meta’s statement a “calculated” move intended to “cause negative public reactions and potentially put pressure on the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.”
The FCCPC said the dollar threatening to leave Nigeria is not exempt from liability companies for the outcome of judicial proceedings.
“Nigerians are denied control over their personal data, the right to transmit and share Nigerian user data, the right to transfer and share Nigerian user data, differentiate Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abuse their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies.”
“It’s interesting that Meta was fined for a similar violation (1.5b) in Texas and only recently asked for a $1.3 billion payment for EU data privacy rules. In India, South Korea, France and elsewhere in Australia, Meta faces various penalties for similar violations. However, Meta never seeks help from blackmail in these countries.
Please see the FCCPC full statement below.
