Private breaches: Pay $220m fine in seven days or face legal action, SERAP tells Meta
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on tech giant Meta and its Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, to immediately pay the $220 million fine imposed by Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) or risk facing legal action.
The call followed last Friday’s ruling by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, which upheld the fine for grave violations of consumer rights, data protection, and privacy laws in Nigeria.
In a letter dated April 26, 2025, and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the foremost civil society organisation warned Meta and Zuckerberg against delaying compliance. SERAP further demanded the payment of an additional $35,000 awarded by the Tribunal as the cost of investigation.
“As Chairman and CEO, you ought to ensure enhanced transparency, human rights due diligence, accountability and remediation by Meta to ensure that Nigerians’ human rights are not threatened or violated,” the letter reads.
SERAP also urged Meta to immediately halt the violations identified by the Tribunal, prevent their recurrence, and ensure that any persons responsible were held accountable.
According to SERAP, “The Tribunal’s judgment confirms that the operations of Meta (Facebook) in Nigeria have violated Nigerians’ human rights and continued to have a chilling effect on the enjoyment of human rights on Meta platforms.”
The organisation expressed concerns that the violations may be ongoing and warned that they could recur if not effectively redressed.
“SERAP urges you and Meta not to unnecessarily prolong the harms suffered by the victims by resisting the temptation to pursue any appeal against the Tribunal’s judgment under the provisions of section 55 of the FCCP Act,” it stated.
Highlighting the broader implications, SERAP noted, “The Tribunal’s judgment also shows clear and strong evidence that the operations of Meta in Nigeria are inconsistent and incompatible with international human rights standards including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”
SERAP gave Meta and Zuckerberg seven days from the receipt or publication of the letter to comply, threatening to initiate legal action at the national, regional, or international levels if they failed to do so.
“Our requests are brought in the public interest, and in keeping with the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and other applicable international human standards binding on Meta,” the letter emphasized.
SERAP concluded by stressing that Meta’s failure to comply would not only perpetuate harm but also deepen violations against Nigerian consumers and users.
