Tribunal reserves ruling in Meta, WhatsApp’s appeal challenging $220m fine by Nigerian govt

The Nigerian Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal on Tuesday reserved a ruling in an appeal filed by social media platforms, Meta Incorporated and WhatsApp, challenging the $220 million penalty imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

The commission had last year fined Meta and WhatsApp $220 million for alleged discriminatory practices in Nigeria.

The fine imposed by the FCCPC followed an investigation into alleged violations of data protection and consumer rights by the United States-based organisations.

READ ALSO: FG reacts to WhatsApp’s threat to exit Nigeria over $220m fine

The Commission expressed concerns about Meta’s allegedly abusive and invasive practices affecting data subjects and consumers in Nigeria.

Meta and WhatsApp, however, appealed the sanction, citing 22 reasons, including alleged vague directives, unjustifiable data-sharing orders, and procedural errors.

The appellants in their appeal claimed that the FCCPC’s demands were vague, technically impossible to implement within the stipulated timeframe, and unsupported by Nigerian law.

They argued that the FCCPC denied them a fair hearing by imposing a hefty penalty without allowing them to understand how the penalty would be calculated or to respond to the calculation of the proposed amount.

The organisations contended that contrary to the FCCPC’s compliance order, identifying and building a consent mechanism for each data point processed by Nigerian users would be impossible and extremely expensive.

In Tuesday’s proceeding, a three-member panel led by Thomas Okosun adjourned the verdict after taking arguments from WhatsApp and Meta’s legal team led by Prof. Gbolahan Elias (SAN), and the FCCPC’s legal team, represented by Babatunde Irukera (SAN), a former Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission.

By: Babajide Okeowo

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