After Nigeria’s consumer protection agency, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), issued a $220 million fine against WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta, in July, the popular messaging app is considering whether or not to withdraw from the country.
The fine followed a joint investigation by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, that found that the platform violated data privacy measures by sharing user information with other Meta companies. The report’s findings also alleged that the “Meta Parties” engaged in invasive and abusive practices against data consumers.
The FCCPC issued a final order requiring WhatsApp to “take steps to comply with Nigerian law, stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, change their practices to meet Nigerian standards and respect consumer rights.”
A legal battle
WhatsApp's legal team has appealed the Commission’s order, arguing that they were fined heavily without a fair hearing. The company argued that it would be impossible to identify and build a “consent mechanism for each data point processed by Nigerian consumers” because of its expensive nature.
Claiming that the Commission’s order lacks a solid legal basis, WhatsApp said that it updated its privacy policy to give Nigerians more control. The company also suggested that it would rather stop operations in Nigeria instead of fulfilling the order.
“This order contains multiple inaccuracies and misrepresents how WhatsApp works,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said, as reported by TechPoint Africa. “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.”
The FCCPC argues that its actions are based on “legitimate concerns about consumer protection and data privacy and [that] the order is a positive step towards a fairer digital market in Nigeria. Similar measures are taken in other jurisdictions without forcing companies to leave the market.”
Despite WhatsApp’s claim that it would rather stop operating in Nigeria than put money toward better protecting Nigerians’ information, experts believe the country is too valuable for the company simply to leave.
“Foreign companies like WhatsApp understand the value of the Nigerian market. If they leave, they stand to lose far more than they would gain by exiting,” said Nathaniel Ike, a tech expert and founder of Techclout Africa. “WhatsApp will likely negotiate a reduced penalty or appeal to the government. In business, you don’t shut down operations because of challenges; you adjust and adapt.”
Journalists express concerns
Many reporters are concerned about how WhatsApp halting operations in the country could impact their work. The messaging app is widely popular, and journalists use it to share ideas, network, build virtual connections, hold group meetings, chat with sources for stories and process news reports.
“WhatsApp is one of the most prominent platforms journalists use for daily exchanges,” said Akintunde Babatunde, director of programs at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development. “Most newsrooms use it as a converging point for their editorial work, journalists circulate their stories on the platform and there are WhatsApp channels that a lot of media organizations use to reach more audiences.”
The decision may lead to a bigger divide between those who don’t have access to other social media platforms especially because WhatsApp has low consumption of data compared to other social media platforms, said Babatunde: “Most people who are not financially buoyant may just do a mini data subscription with their network provider to access WhatsApp.”
Mohammed Taoheed, a reporter at Premium Times newspaper, uses WhatsApp to conduct most of his interviews because of the app’s end-to-end encryption.
“I have other social media alternatives, but they don’t have it as strong as WhatsApp,” he said. “If WhatsApp leaves, I am not sure how I’ll be able to conduct sensitive interviews.”
Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash.
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