The messaging platform, WhatsApp, has announced plans to urgently apply for a stay of execution and appeal the ruling of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) that upheld a $220 million penalty imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
WhatsApp disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos, expressing strong disagreement with the tribunal’s decision.
In addition to the penalty, the tribunal ordered WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta Platforms Incorporated, to pay an extra $35,000 to the FCCPC, intended to cover the commission’s investigative costs into the companies’ data policies.
The tribunal also dismissed the appeal filed by WhatsApp and Meta challenging the FCCPC’s penalty, thereby reinforcing the regulator’s stance on protecting Nigerian users’ data rights.
Reacting to the judgment, WhatsApp stated that it would “urgently apply to stay the order and appeal today’s decision to avoid any impact to users.”
The company further emphasised its disagreement with the tribunal’s order, noting that the FCCPC’s decision contained “multiple inaccuracies” and “misrepresented how WhatsApp works.”
The messaging giant warned that the tribunal’s decision could have broader implications for its ability to operate in Nigeria and elsewhere, stressing that:
“It will be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria, or globally, without the infrastructure of our parent company, Meta.”
Backstory
On Friday, Nairametrics reported that the tribunal delivered a ruling in favour of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), affirming the $220 million fine initially levied against WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta Platforms Incorporated, for alleged discriminatory data practices in Nigeria.
The regulator had accused WhatsApp and Meta of failing to treat Nigerian users equally compared to users in other jurisdictions, raising serious concerns about privacy, consent, and data protection.
Following its judgment, the tribunal issued several directives:
- Meta parties must immediately reinstate the right of Nigerian users to determine how their data is shared.
- Meta parties must submit a letter of compliance to this effect by July 1, 2025.
- Meta parties must ensure their application is updated to allow Nigerian users to fully exercise their legitimate rights regarding each data point.
- Meta parties must, within 10 days, submit their proposed policy to both the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), and the policy must also be published publicly.
- Meta must immediately cease sharing Nigerian users’ information with Facebook and other third parties.
- Meta must immediately revert to its data-sharing policy as it existed in 2016.
- Meta parties must stop tying WhatsApp data to Facebook and other third parties without explicitly seeking and obtaining consent from Nigerian users, and must provide evidence of compliance.
- Meta must reimburse the FCCPC with $35,000 for the cost of its investigation.
- Meta must pay the $220 million fine no later than 60 days from Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
Why this matters
The ruling marks one of the most significant penalties against a technology company in Nigeria’s regulatory history.
It signals a tougher stance by Nigerian authorities on multinational tech companies operating within its borders, especially around data protection and consumer rights.
Should WhatsApp’s appeal fail, the case could set a major precedent for how digital platforms manage data governance in Nigeria’s fast-growing tech ecosystem.
