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Meta's $32.8M Fine in Nigeria: Data Privacy Explained
Oct 19, 2025
Meta faces a $32.8 million fine in Nigeria for violating data privacy laws. The tech giant is accused of using user data for advertising without consent and transferring data abroad without authorization. Nigeria is ordering Meta to review its policies and seek explicit user consent. #Meta #DataPrivacy #Nigeria #TechRegulation
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0:00
Now away from that, Meta Platform
0:02
Incorporated, owner of Facebook and
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Instagram, has agreed to pay $ 32.8
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million to Nigeria's data protection
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commission after breaching the country's
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data privacy laws. The fine originally
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issued in February 2025 accused Meta of
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using Nigerians data for advertising
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without consent, collecting information
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from non-users, failing to submit
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required reports, and transferring user
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data abroad without authorization.
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Following months of legal battles, Meta
0:35
opted for an outofc court settlement
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expected to conclude by the end of
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October 2025. The data protection
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commission has also ordered meta to
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review its privacy policies, seek user
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consent, and comply with local data
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regulations.
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Now, cyber lawyer Ola Pomi Fino joins us
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now to to make some sense on Nigeria's
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data protection and privacy laws. You're
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welcome.
1:06
Hello. Good evening. Nice to be here.
1:08
Thank you. Uh very quickly, what
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specific privacy violations led to uh
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the data protections commission decision
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against MA and how significant are these
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within Nigeria's data protection
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framework?
1:24
Okay. So um the Nigerian data protection
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commission was triggered by I would say
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three core um privacy violations. The
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first one meta using Nigerians data to
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um for targeted ads without their
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explicit permission which actually
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breaches section 25 and 26 of the
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Nigerian data protection act. Also the
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second one I would say is um the
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transfer of data across borders without
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proper authorization from the commission
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which also convenes section 41 to 44 of
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the Nigerian data protection act which
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provides for crossber data transfer. And
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the last one is failure to comply with
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compliance obligations such as audit and
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um data impact assessment which is
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significant in Nigerian data protection
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act. Um I would say that this is the
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first of maj cases. This is the first
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time that the Nigerian data protection
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commission is actually going against one
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of the big techs and this
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case will actually be a precedent to
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many other cases and countries in
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Africa.
2:35
of significant significance,
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right? So tell us I mean in terms of the
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consent, how does the order for Meta to
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of course get user consent before
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targeted advertising change the way
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social media platforms can monetize user
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data in Nigeria?
2:53
Um so let me start target advertising is
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a major way that social media platforms
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actually gets money. So this other
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against meta that they should not use
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targeted they ask for explicit consent
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will number one um affect them
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monetarily because let me first thing
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fewer people will opt in. So when there
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is concept now fewer people want to say
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whether they want to do this or not and
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once fewer people opt in there means the
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data um available will shrink and once
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data available shrinks they'll be weak
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they'll be weakened ad position and more
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people and less people will be paying
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for these type of services. So it's
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going to affect the monetization and the
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monetary value in Nigeria. But I feel
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like they I believe that they can
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actually shift or private to um
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contextual advertising which is in turn
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um adverts where you um where you see
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content based on what you're viewing not
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just targeted not content based on your
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profile or your history online. So yeah
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it will affect them but they will get
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out of it.
4:02
Okay. Now in terms of impact though,
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what what impact could these new
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compliance requirements have on MA's
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advertising revenue and of course the
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digital marketing ecosystem in Nigeria?
4:17
I think I answered part of the question
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in my previous one about how it's going
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to affect the um digital marketing
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ecosystem and the impact. So the the
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first impact I would say is that this
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new compliance um requirement
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number one will make people make data
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marketers the market think outside the
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box and will make them stop using the
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lazy generic way. Two it will protect
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our privacy and our data. three meta we
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need to think beyond excuse me we think
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beyond the um generic way of putting out
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data um the targeted adverts of putting
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out data and um it will now have to ask
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for people's content and people will
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have the authority and permission to use
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their um will have the control over
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their um um I mean data and their
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content so yes impact on monetary value
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but yeah
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so in terms of permission
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Are you saying that as it stands right
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now that permission from individual
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users and subscribers was not uh gotten
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consent was not given at all?
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Um consent might have been given but not
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explicitly. So now what the Nigerian
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data protection commission wants is that
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people can know what they are giving
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content for. So it's not more the um
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terms and condition where you have 40
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pages of tiny prints that the content
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can be hidden somewhere there. But the
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what the Nigerian protection wants is
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okay when I'm ticking this box that I
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agree I know I am agreeing that my
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profile or I can be monitored online to
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be given targeted ads not just the 30
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page terms I agree to terms and
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condition I agree to privacy policy no
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matter to be explicitly written so
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people can have the permission or the
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authority to select it and it should not
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affect
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the other features or affect them
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accessing the platform. Yeah.
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All right. I mean, my my my final
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question to you very quickly now in in
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terms of implications, are there any
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possible implications of this deal for
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investor confidence, especially in the
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Nigeria tech and regulatory environment?
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Um, I would say m is a double-edged
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sword. Um for investors that actually
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like regulation and are confident like
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like regulation or they are safe where a
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place is being properly regulated. Yes,
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it will boost their confidence but
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because this is showing that Nigeria is
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moving to a step where the Niger
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Protection Act and possibly other
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internet related governance commissions
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will start um regulating and enforcing
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their laws. So Niger become a regulated
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tech space when not anything can work or
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not anybody can just come and play
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around. You must apply with our law. So
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investors that are confident or are
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secure in regulatory spaces will thrive
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in Nigeria. But people who want um a
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laidback regulation not easily tight
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might still have issues investing. But I
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feel like in in the long run we'll find
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a balance. But for now it's a two it's a
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double. I can't say yes or no to the
7:27
question.
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Hola, thank you so much for your time
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and for your insight.
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[Music]