The Federal Government and Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, have agreed to settle out of court over a $32.8 million fine imposed on the tech giant for alleged breaches of Nigerians’ data privacy.
The development was disclosed on Friday by lawyers representing both parties before Judge James Omotosho, of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Recall that in February, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) fined Meta for allegedly violating Nigeria Data Protection Act. The Commission said the sanction followed a petition accusing the company of, amongst others: Using Nigerians’ personal data for behavioural advertising without consent; Failing to submit its 2022 compliance audit; Transferring data abroad without authorisation, and Processing the personal information of non-users and minors.
NDPC later filed an ex-parte motion to compel Meta to comply with its orders. Meta, however, challenged the fine in court, claiming it was denied a fair hearing, and asked the Federal High Court to quash the sanction. NDPC’s lawyers countered that Meta’s suit was “grossly incompetent” and lacked judicial merit.
After hearing both sides in July, Omotosho allowed Meta to pursue judicial review but refused to halt NDPC’s orders, adjourning the matter until 3 October for a consolidated ruling.
The $32.8 million fine was part of NDPC’s efforts to enforce the Nigeria Data Protection Act, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023.
The Commission had issued eight corrective directives requiring Meta to: Conduct a data processing impact assessment, in line with Nigeria’s privacy laws; Update privacy policies; Obtain explicit consent before behavioural advertising, and Stop unauthorised transfer of personal data abroad.
However, Meta rejected both the findings and the enforcement process, claiming violations of its constitutional rights to due process.
