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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has described Meta’s threat to exit Nigeria in response to the $220m fine as a move to influence public opinion and coerce the commission to rescind its decision.

FCCPC reiterated that the fine against Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram was in order and legitimate.

This came as FCCPC on July 19, 2024, slammed a $220 million fine on Meta for an unauthorized appropriation of personal data without user consent, and discriminatory practices against Nigerian users.

Despite plans to appeal the ruling, Meta in a statement on Thursday, through WhatsApp, indicated that the imposed penalty would affect its services and operations in Nigeria.

“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.

“This order contains multiple inaccuracies and misrepresents how WhatsApp works and we are urgently appealing the order to avoid any impact on users“, WhatsApp claimed.

Meanwhile, reacting to WhatsApp’s latest comment, FCCPC through its official X account on Thursday said the firm engaged in discriminatory practices against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abused its dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies.

The Commission added that the order was a positive step towards a fair digital market and sanitization of the sector.

Consequently, the commission said the final order requires Meta Parties to take steps to comply with Nigerian law, stop exploiting Nigerian consumers, change their practices to meet Nigerian standards and respect consumer rights

“WhatsApp’s claim that it may be forced to exit Nigeria due to FCCPC’s recent order appears to be a strategic move aimed at influencing public opinion and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.

“The FCCPC investigated Meta Platforms and WhatsApp (jointly referred to as “Meta Parties”) for allegedly violating the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation.

“To deter future violations and ensure accountability for the alleged infringements the FCCPC also imposed a monetary penalty of $220m.

“The FCCPC’s actions are based on legitimate concerns about consumer protection and data privacy and 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. The case of Nigeria will not be different,” the statement concluded