Breaking: Meta threatens to shut down Instagram, Facebook in Nigeria
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has warned it may be forced to shut down Facebook and Instagram operations in Nigeria due to mounting regulatory pressure and what it described as “unrealistic” government demands.
The warning came through a court filing obtained by the BBC, as Meta continues to grapple with a $220 million fine imposed by Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for alleged data privacy violations.
The fine follows a 38-month joint investigation conducted by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into the data practices of Meta and its messaging platform, WhatsApp.
Despite the April 25 ruling by the competition and consumer protection tribunal upholding the fine, Meta has vowed to appeal. The court has given the company until the end of June to comply.
In the filing, Meta indicated that to “mitigate the risk of enforcement measures,” it may have to “effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria.” Notably, the company made no mention of WhatsApp in the court document.
The BBC reports that Meta’s primary concerns lie with the NDPC, which the company accuses of misinterpreting the country’s data protection laws.
In addition to the FCCPC fine, the NDPC has fined Meta $32.8 million for alleged privacy breaches, while the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) issued a separate $37.5 million penalty for what it called unapproved advertising content.
Among the regulatory demands is a requirement that Meta obtain prior approval before transferring Nigerian users’ data abroad—a condition the company deems “unrealistic.”
The NDPC has also ordered Meta to create and display educational content on data privacy risks via a dedicated icon on its platforms. These videos are to be co-produced with approved institutions and non-profits, and must address manipulative and unfair data processing practices.
Meta has pushed back against these directives, describing them as “unworkable” and asserting that the Nigerian authorities have failed to properly interpret their own data laws.
The FCCPC maintains that the fines are the result of thorough investigations conducted between May 2021 and December 2023 in partnership with the NDPC.