Following the recent decision of the Nigeria’s Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal which upheld the $220 million fine imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission against WhatsApp, the messaging app has vowed to take legal action against the commission.
On Saturday, April 26, WhatsApp said it will be appealing the ruling of the tribunal which upheld the penalty slammed on it and its parent company, Meta Platforms Incorporated.
Recall that the FCCPC had slammed a $200 million fine on the messaging app for engaging in discriminatory data practices against its customers in Nigeria.
Despite appealing the penalty issued to it by FCCPC, the tribunal dismissed the application by WhatsApp and Meta.
However, reacting to the tribunal’s decision, the company said, “We are urgently applying to stay the order and appeal today’s decision to avoid any impact to users.”
WhatsApp also accused the tribunal of misrepresenting its practices adding that the company only relies on limited data to run its services.
According to the company, this helps it protect users as it will be impossible for it to provide WhatsApp services in Nigeria, or globally, without Meta’s infrastructure.
Further disagreeing with the findings by FCCPC and the rulings of the tribunal, it said, “multiple inaccuracies and misrepresented how WhatsApp worked.”