The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has imposed a $200 million fine on Meta Platforms Inc. and WhatsApp LLC. The acting Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, Dr. Adamu Abdullahi, announced during a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday that the penalty follows three years of intensive investigations, revealing discriminatory practices and other sanctionable offenses committed by the companies.
Mr Abdullahi said the companies were found culpable of denying Nigerian data subjects the right to self-determination, unauthorized transfer, and sharing of personal data which was not the practice in other climes.
He said the companies gave options to data subjects in other climes to decide whether their data would be shared or not.
”Only last week, FCCPC issued a final order and imposed a monetary penalty of $220,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Twenty Million USD) against Meta Platforms Inc. and WhatsApp LLC over discriminatory practices in Nigeria.
”This is an investigation that has taken place for the past three years and I was part of it.
”We found out that when you register for the first time to join WhatsApp, there is a column that says you have agreed for your data to be shared for research.