The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, Friday, slammed Meta Platforms Incorporated and WhatsApp LLC with the sum of $220 million in a case brought against the social media giants by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
It also awarded an administrative penalty of $35,000 in favour of the FCCPC as cost of investigation.
The judgment was delivered in an appeal filed by Meta Platforms Incorporated (Facebook) and WhatsApp LLC against the FCCPC thus affirming the commission’s authority and actions in nearly all the contested issues.
The Director, Corporate Affairs Ondaje Ijagwu, in a press statement issued on Friday in Abuja, explained that the tribunal specifically determined that the commission complied with prevailing laws, discharged its mandate, and exercised its powers within the confines of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
It ruled that the multiple actions by WhatsApp and Meta, for which the commission made findings of violations, were correctly identified, and that the commission did not err in making those findings.
The FCCPC had on July on July 19, 2024 issued a Final Order imposing a $220 million administrative penalty after concluding that the companies engaged in discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian consumers.
The case arose from a 38-month joint investigation initiated by the FCCPC in 2020 and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into the conduct, privacy practices, and consumer data policies of Meta Platforms and WhatsApp.
Dissatisfied with the Order last year, Meta and WhatsApp appealed to the Tribunal, challenging both the legal basis and the findings of the Commission.