NEWISSUES
WhatsApp has disclosed that its parent company Meta will appeal the $220 million fine imposed by the federal government over the violation of Nigeria's data privacy laws.
Daily Sun reported that the fine was announced in a statement issued by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Friday.
Reacting to the decision in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday, WhatsApp expressed disagreement with the fine, adding that Meta will appeal.
“We disagree with the decision today as well as the fine and Meta will be appealing the decision.
“In 2021, we went to users globally to explain how talking to businesses among other things would work and while there was a lot of confusion then, it has actually proven quite popular,” it said.
According to the FCCPC, the $220 million fine was imposed on Meta after the company shared users data without consent, and abused its market dominance.
“Denying Nigerian data subjects the right to self-determine; Unauthorized transfer and sharing of Nigerian data-subjects personal data, including cross-border storage in violation of then, and now prevailing law: Discrimination and disparate treatment; Dominance; Abuse of dominance, and Tying and bundling,” part of the statement issued reads.
