Nigeria and Meta appear to be on the verge of resolving their data protection dispute.
Both parties have informed a court in Abuja that they are at an “advanced” stage of negotiations to settle the lawsuit, which led to Nigeria’s data protection authority imposing a fine of nearly $33 million on the tech giant.
Meta’s WhatsApp, Facebook, and Messenger apps are widely used for communication and commerce across Africa, and Nigeria—home to Africa’s largest population and a rapidly growing smartphone market—remains one of Meta’s key markets on the continent.
Additionally, Meta is facing a separate case with Nigeria’s consumer protection agency. Last year, the company was fined $220 million over allegations of “multiple, repeated, and continuing infringements” of the country’s data protection and competition laws. Meta has disputed both the findings and the fine, but a tribunal upheld the decision in April.
These disputes with Nigeria are part of a series of challenges Meta has encountered in Africa. Content moderators in Kenya, employed by contractors for Meta, are also involved in a compensation battle with the company over alleged harm caused by their work.
