WhatsApp could leave Nigeria over $220M fine

A week after Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) fined WhatsApp $220 million for a data privacy breach, the company may consider suspending its operations in the country due to additional regulatory demands.

Sources indicate that Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, is contemplating withdrawing certain services from Nigeria. The FCCPC has not only imposed the hefty fine but also ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with other Facebook companies and third parties without explicit user consent. The commission has further mandated that WhatsApp provide transparency about its data collection practices and enhance user control over data usage.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told TechCabal via email, “We want to be clear that, technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally.” The spokesperson criticized the FCCPC’s order as flawed and argued that it misrepresents WhatsApp’s data practices, requiring significant changes to the platform’s infrastructure.

Meta has not responded to the FCCPC’s allegations about user opt-out options from the 2021 privacy policy but maintains that the update does not entail sharing user data. The company’s privacy policy states, “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.”

If WhatsApp decides to suspend its operations in Nigeria, it could have substantial repercussions for individuals and small businesses that rely on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook for customer engagement.

Some privacy lawyers have questioned the FCCPC’s reliance on the National Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) as the basis for the fine. The NDPR, enacted in 2019 by the National Information Technology Development Agency, serves as Nigeria’s primary data protection framework. Two unnamed lawyers expressed doubts about the NDPR’s authority in such a significant matter and questioned whether a government regulation can be considered definitive in privacy issues.

Additionally, two unnamed government officials raised concerns about the fairness of the $220 million fine. “We are too revenue-focused. What is the opportunity cost of $220 million in government coffers?” an industry expert questioned.

If WhatsApp ceases its operations in Nigeria due to these regulatory demands, both the FCCPC and the Nigerian government could face significant scrutiny and consequences.