Meta’s microblogging website WhatsApp may suspend its operations in Nigeria following the hefty $220 million fine imposed on it by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for alleged data privacy violations.
This development comes just one week after the FCCPC imposed the fine, citing WhatsApp’s failure to comply with data privacy standards.
According to sources close to the matter, Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, is considering withdrawing certain services from Nigeria due to the commission’s stringent demands.
The sources also said the service suspension poses a potential threat to Nigerian WhatsApp users and small businesses.
FCCPC has ordered WhatsApp to cease sharing users data with other companies including Facebook and third parties without explicit consent.
Furthermore, the FCCPC said WhatsApp must provide detailed information about its data collection practices and restore user control over their data usage.
According to techCabal, a WhatsApp spokesperson expressed the company’s concerns, “We want to be really clear that technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally.
“This order contains multiple inaccuracies and misrepresents how WhatsApp works. WhatsApp relies on limited data to run our service and keep users safe, and it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally without Meta’s infrastructure. We are urgently appealing the order to avoid any impact on users.”
Meta maintains that despite the FCCPC’s claim that WhatsApp did not allow users to opt out of its 2021 policy, the January 2021 Privacy Policy update does not involve sharing user data.
“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 privacy document reads.
The potential suspension of WhatsApp in Nigeria could have far-reaching consequences for individuals and small businesses, many of whom rely on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook to connect with customers.
Privacy lawyers have also questioned FCCPC’s reference to the National Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) as the basis for the fine.
Enacted in 2019 by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the NDPR is Nigeria’s primary data protection framework.
However, two lawyers who requested anonymity argued that the NDPR might not withstand legal scrutiny, questioning whether a government regulation can be authoritative on such a significant privacy matter.
Moreover, the magnitude of the $220 million fine has raised eyebrows among government figures and industry experts.
“We are too revenue-focused. What is the opportunity cost of $220 million in government coffers?” an industry expert questioned.