At the beginning of May, the social media giant Meta announced that it would rather withdraw Facebook and Instagram from Nigeria than comply with essential consumer and data protection rules in the country. This move, which will leave millions of users in Nigeria and the region without one of the main communication services available to them, is a direct attack on the freedom of expression and access to information for millions. ARTICLE 19 and undersigned digital rights organisations in Africa call on Meta to obey the competition and consumer protection Tribunal of Nigeria’s decision and uphold users’ rights and stop using its market power to undermine democratic accountability. We urge Nigerian authorities and global regulators to stand firm in defending open, fair, and rights-respecting digital spaces.
After a lengthy investigation, in July 2024, Nigeria’s Federal Commission for Competition and Consumer Protection (FCCPC) imposed a US$220 million penalty fine on Meta. The Commission among others also ordered that META allows Nigerian users the right to control their data as part of the solutions to address the violations as well as far-reaching remedies to address the violations. According to the FCCPC, Meta was found responsible for ‘multiple and repeated, as well as continuing infringements’ of the country’s data protection and competition laws. This included appropriations of personal data without consent, discriminatory practices against Nigerian consumers compared with other jurisdictions, and abuse of dominant position by forcing exploitative privacy policies on consumers without giving them the option to withhold consent or self-determine how their data is used.
Meta appealed the FCCPC decision, but the competition and Consumer protection Tribunal – the Federal High Court upheld the sanctions on 25 April. In response, Meta threatened to withdraw its services from the country rather than comply with these legal obligations. Unfortunately, this threat is not new. Meta has a well-documented history of leveraging its dominant market position to resist regulatory oversight and accountability, not only in Nigeria. Commenting on the move, the FCCPC announced that this won’t ‘absolve Meta of liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process’.
We stand strongly behind the FCCPC and urge Meta to obey the High Court decision and to modify the provision of its services in the country to respect the rights of both the people and the businesses using them. Meta’s size and market dominance do not place it above the law. Indeed, while the fine for a company as large as Meta could be seen merely as a ‘cost of doing business’, the behavioural obligations required by the FCCPC are especially significant. As ARTICLE 19 highlighted in the 2024 analysis the of the FCCPC decision, the case is particularly noteworthy because the FCCPC explicitly recognised the link between protecting fundamental rights, including data protection, and safeguarding competition. This combination of factors is gradually becoming an issue of global focus, with similar decisions having been reached elsewhere – particularly in the EU – and increasing discussions at the international level.
Meta’s approach is yet another confirmation of the current struggle to ensure Big Tech plays by the rules and to hold them accountable for their abusive and rights-violating behaviors.
Facebook and Instagram are extremely popular social media platforms in Nigeria. They are used by tens of millions in the country for daily communication, raising awareness on key human rights issues, and have been critical in enabling the flow of information during times of unrest. Facebook in particular, is also a vital tool for many of Nigeria’s small online businesses. For many years, the #KeepItOn coalition has documented the grave impacts of internet shutdowns including through platform blocks, which fall under our definition of a shutdown. This includes; exacerbating the spread of disinformation, economic losses, impeding civic participation and blocking access to life saving information. It is thus shameful to note that despite being aware of the grave impact of censorship after being subjected to unjustified blanket restrictions in Uganda, Meta now seeks to voluntarily stifle the voices of people in Nigeria. Meta’s significant role in the country, both in the economic and the social sphere, comes with responsibilities. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which Meta has committed to upholding, require companies to avoid contributing to adverse human rights impacts. In 2020, the ECOWAS Court ruled that access to the internet and the right to freedom of expression are inextricably linked. For billions of people around the world, online platforms are the primary way of accessing and using the internet. Therefore, threatening to block access to Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria is both a breach of international human rights standards, and a contemptuous disregard of the rule of law.
Big companies cannot use their market power to exploit consumers, and they cannot rely on their size and influence to place themselves above the law. Competition authorities have a fundamental task: to keep concentrated power in check and to hold big players accountable. Government’s laws and policies to support decentralised, open and fairer digital markets are also essential.
Meta’s threat is a wake-up call for everybody: the current concentration of power in the digital communications infrastructure damages society and the economy. It’s time to take action.
Signed by /
1. ARTICLE 19
2. ACCESS NOW
3. JONCTION
4. Press Council of South Africa
5.Avocats Sans Frontieres France
6.THR MEDIA
7. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
8.NMT Media Foundation
9.Media Diversity Institute
10.The Africa Editors Forum
11.Ochieng Rapuro – (Independent editor)
12.South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF)
13. DNS World Media and Communications
14. Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre-RULAAC
15. Internet Governance Tanzania Working Group (IGTWG)
16. Afrique Media
17. Ubunteam
18. AfricTivistes
19. African Women in Media
20. Spaces for Change
21.Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria/West African Digital Rights Defenders Coalition
22. Blueprint for Free Speech
23.Civic Advisory Hub
24.Lux Radio/TV
25. The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
26. Media Foundation for West Africa