WhatsApp said it would be forced to apply for the implementation and appeal of a decision through the Nigeria and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) competition that promotes a $ 220 million fine imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The messaging platform revealed this in a statement available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos, expressing a strong disagreement with the tribunal judgment.
The tribunal's decision not only strengthened the fine but also ordered WhatsApp and its parent company, META Platforms Incorporated, to pay an additional $ 35,000 to cover FCCPC's investigation costs to companies' data skills.
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WhatsApp, in its reaction, said “forced to apply to remain the order and appeal to the decision today to avoid any impact on users,” based that the tribunal's decision contains what it described as “many accuracy” and “falsely telling how WhatsApp works.”
Financial penalties are more than a contest, WhatsApp has warned that implementation of decision -making may initiate the ability to continue to offer Nigeria services and even affect its global operation. The company emphasized that providing a platform without relying on the greater meta infrastructure is impossible.
“It is impossible to provide WhatsApp to Nigeria, or around the world, without our parent company infrastructure, Meta,” he said.
The story on the back
The background on the ruling dates back to an earlier investigation by the FCCPC, which accused WhatsApp and meta of discrimination data skills. According to the Commission, companies failed to treat Nigerian users with the same level of privacy, permission, and data protection provided to users in other constituents, especially those protected under strict regulations such as European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The regulator argued that the companies' strategy exposed Nigerian users to not fair data sharing skills and failed to obtain enough permission before sharing their information with third parties, including Facebook.
The tribunal, in its judgment delivered Friday, not only promotes the FCCPC fine but also imposed a series of conditions aimed at restoring Nigerian users' rights to their personal data. Among the directives, the tribunal ordered the meta and whatsapp to immediately restore the rights of Nigerian users to control how their personal data shared. They were also ordered to submit a formal letter in compliance with the FCCPC on July 1, 2025, proving that the correction measures were fully implemented.
In addition, Meta and WhatsApp are required to update their applications to allow Nigerian users to use full control at each data point collected from them. They must submit their proposed new data policies to both the FCCPC and Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) within 10 days of deciding. Companies are expected to announce these policy documents to ensure transparency.
Another critical part of the order requires the meta to immediately stop sharing the data of Nigerian users on Facebook and other third parties. Meta is also required to return to the 2016 data sharing policy-new WhatsApp data integration with the broader advertising and profiling of Facebook-Profiling-surely that users' permission is clearly sought and obtained before any data is tied to platforms. Following these requests should be shown with proven evidence.
In addition to directing the meta to pay for the FCCPC with $ 35,000 as the cost of this investigation work, the tribunal ordered that $ 220 million penalties should be paid no later than 60 days from April 30, 2025.
The ruling tribunal has marked one of the most endowed regulatory actions performed against a global technology company in Nigeria's history. It also signed a more assertive regulatory environment in which Nigerian authorities are increasingly ready to impose heavy penalties on giant multinational tech that do not protect the consumer's local rights.
However, business leaders note that the decision carries greater risks for WhatsApp and Meta. Nigeria, with its population of over 220 million, remains a critical growth market in Africa, and the case can set a strong decision for how multinational tech companies manage management, privacy, and user permission throughout the continent. Should the WhatsApp appeal, experts warn that it can trigger a Ripple effect, encouraging other African regulators to adopt similar aggressive positions in implementing local data protection laws.
Meanwhile, Nigerian officials praised the tribunal's decision as a step toward proving the country's sovereignty over regulating the digital economy. For them, the case highlighted a prolonged demand that foreign digital platforms should respect the rights of Nigerian users in equal terms to users elsewhere.
