BREAKING: Why WhatsApp may suspend operations in Nigeria

One week after Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) imposed a $220 million fine on WhatsApp for a data privacy breach, the messaging platform may suspend its operations in the country due to additional regulatory demands.

Sources indicate that Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, is considering withdrawing certain services from Nigeria in response to the situation. The FCCPC has not only levied the substantial fine but also instructed WhatsApp to halt the sharing of user data with other Facebook companies and third parties without explicit user consent.

Furthermore, the commission has mandated that WhatsApp disclose details about its data collection practices and enhance user control over data usage.

In response, a WhatsApp spokesperson emailed TechCabal, “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, asserting that it inaccurately portrays WhatsApp’s data handling and would necessitate significant changes to the platform’s infrastructure.

Meta has not addressed the FCCPC’s allegations regarding user opt-out options from the 2021 privacy policy but maintains that the update does not involve 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.”

The potential suspension of WhatsApp could have significant repercussions for individuals and small businesses in Nigeria, many of whom rely on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook for customer engagement.

Some privacy lawyers have questioned the FCCPC’s use of the National Data Protection Regulation as the foundation for the fine. Enacted in 2019 by the National Information Technology Development Agency, the NDPR is Nigeria’s principal data protection framework. Two unnamed lawyers have expressed doubts about the NDPR’s authority in such a high-stakes matter and questioned whether a government regulation can be deemed definitive in privacy issues.

Additionally, two unnamed government officials have 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?” questioned an industry expert.

Should WhatsApp choose to halt its operations in Nigeria due to these demands, both the FCCPC and the Nigerian government will face significant scrutiny and consequences.