Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp threaten to quit Nigeria, July 2025

Meta has warned it may shut down Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria following over $290 million in fines and what it calls “unrealistic” regulatory demands from Nigerian authorities.

The social media giant, which also owns WhatsApp, said it could be forced to withdraw its platforms to avoid enforcement actions after a federal high court in Abuja upheld fines issued by three Nigerian agencies in 2023.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) fined Meta $220 million for alleged anti-competitive conduct.

The Advertising Regulatory Council imposed a $37.5 million penalty for unauthorized ads, while the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) fined the company $32.8 million for breaching data privacy laws.

Meta expressed particular concern over the NDPC’s requirement that it obtain prior approval before transferring personal data outside Nigeria—something Meta called “unrealistic.”

The agency also mandated the creation of educational content on data privacy risks, in collaboration with government-approved bodies, which Meta argued is unworkable and based on a flawed interpretation of privacy laws.

The federal high court has given Meta until the end of June to pay the fines.

Meta facing similar fate in Europe

The European Commission has fined Meta €797.72 million for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers.

Meta is a US multinational technology company with a flagship product in its personal social network Facebook and an online classified ads service called Facebook Marketplace, where users can buy and sell goods.

The Commission’s investigation found that Meta is dominant in the market for personal social networks and national markets for online display advertising on social media.

The Commission found that Meta abused its dominant positions by tying Facebook Marketplace to Facebook, giving it a substantial distribution advantage that competitors cannot match, and unilaterally imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers who advertise on Meta’s platforms.

This allows Meta to use ads-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace.

The Commission has ordered Meta to bring the conduct to an end and refrain from repeating the infringement.

The fine was set based on the Commission’s guidelines on fines, taking into account the duration and gravity of the infringement, as well as Meta’s turnover.

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said Meta must stop this behavior, which is illegal under EU antitrust rules.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook