Recently, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) made headlines for winning a case against Meta (the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram). The Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) upheld a $220 million fine that was earlier imposed on Meta, including an additional $35,000 that was awarded to the FCCPC for the cost of the investigation, which started in year 2020. More details on FCCPC Website.
These issues started because WhatsApp ‘allegedly’ refused to cooperate with FCCPC and they have responded to the decision of the CCPT.
- But by this update, is it possible that Meta will stop doing business with Nigeria or they will just go ahead and pay these fines?
- Is there a future where WhatsApp might stop working in Nigeria if this battle continues?
While the effort of FCCPC is commendable, these ‘tech big players’ sometimes comply and other times push back hard. But at the end of the day, it is consumers like you and I that gets caught in the middle.
That’s why this article is more of a wake-up call. Let us be more cautious with how we use online platforms. Yes, we need to communicate, yes, we need these services and tools, but let’s not forget that we’re not entirely in control, and even though they make us read long Terms/Agreements before using their apps, we still have no complete idea of what ‘they’ do with our data.
So, What do you think, should Nigeria push harder or back off? And with everything happening in the digital world right now, there is AI, etc. one can’t help but wonder: are we gradually losing control over our digital lives?
Sylvester I. Ebhonu, CLN, amPAIDeF
Youtube Channel @ https://youtube.com/@thedigitallibr
#DataPrivacy #AIGovernance #InternetGovernance #Policy