Business
WhatsApp may exit Nigeria over $220m fine

One week after Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission imposed a $220 million fine on WhatsApp for a data privacy breach, the company may suspend its operations in the country due to further regulatory demands.
Sources close to the situation indicate that Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, is contemplating the withdrawal of certain services from Nigeria.
Alongside the substantial fine, the FCCPC has directed WhatsApp to cease sharing user data with other Facebook companies and third parties without explicit user consent.
The commission also requires WhatsApp to disclose details about its data collection practices and to enhance user control over data usage.
In response, a WhatsApp spokesperson emailed TechCabal, “We want to be clear that, technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally.
” The spokesperson criticized the FCCPC’s order as flawed, asserting that it inaccurately portrays WhatsApp’s data handling and would necessitate significant changes to the platform’s infrastructure.
Meta has not addressed the FCCPC’s allegations regarding user opt-out options from the 2021 privacy policy but maintains that the update does not involve sharing user data.
The company’s privacy policy states, “While traditionally mobile carriers and operators store this information, we believe that keeping these records for two billion users would be both a privacy and security risk and we don’t do it.”
The potential suspension of WhatsApp could have significant repercussions for individuals and small businesses in Nigeria, many of whom rely on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook for customer engagement.
Some privacy lawyers have questioned the FCCPC’s use of the National Data Protection Regulation as the foundation for the fine.
Enacted in 2019 by the National Information Technology Development Agency, the NDPR is Nigeria’s principal data protection framework.
Two unnamed lawyers have expressed doubts about the NDPR’s authority in such a high-stakes matter and questioned whether a government regulation can be deemed definitive in privacy issues.
Additionally, two unnamed government officials have raised concerns about the fairness of the $220 million fine. “We are too revenue-focused.
What is the opportunity cost of $220 million in government coffers?” questioned an industry expert.
Should WhatsApp choose to halt its operations in Nigeria due to these demands, both the FCCPC and the Nigerian government will face significant scrutiny and consequences.
Business
EU fines Apple and Meta €700m, risking Trump fury

Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. were hit by relatively modest European Union fines totaling €700 million ($798 million) for violating tough new antitrust rules for Big Tech, following warnings of harsh retaliation from US President Donald Trump.
EU regulators levied the penalties — €500 million against Apple and €200 million against Meta — under its Digital Markets Act, which includes a list of dos and don’ts mainly aimed at Silicon Valley giants.
“Apple and Meta have fallen short,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said on Wednesday.
“All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values.”
The punishments — the first under the DMA — are far lower than previous penalties under traditional EU competition law, and are likely to be seen as an attempt to avoid further provoking Trump, who recently laid out a swath of tariffs on global economies.
He’s specifically called out the EU’s tech regulations as the kind of non-tariff trade barrier that his so-called reciprocal tariffs are intended to target.
The European Commission said that Apple had failed to allow developers to link out from its App Store in order to make sales outside of the company’s marketplace.
Meta’s business model for ad-free services on Instagram and Facebook also fell foul of the tech law, which gives regulators fining powers of up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue.
Both firms must comply with the EU decision within 60 days, or face the risk of further financial penalties.
Apple was also warned that its new fee structure for app developers — itself a plan devised to comply with EU rules — isn’t in line with the EU Big Tech rulebook.
Apple responded fiercely to the EU penalty, accusing the bloc’s regulators of discriminating against the company and forcing it to give away its technology for free.
The Cupertino, California-based company said it would appeal the fine to the EU courts. Just last year, the company was hit with a €1.8 billion EU fine for shutting out music-streaming rivals on the iPhone.
Meta’s head of global affairs Joel Kaplan also hit back, saying the EU “is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards.”
The EU decision “isn’t just about a fine; the commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” said Kaplan.
“And by unfairly restricting personalized advertising the European Commission is also hurting European businesses and economies.
”The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Asked about whether the commission had deliberately kept the fines low to avoid provoking Trump, the Brussels-based EU commission said the fines were “proportionate” to the alleged gravity and duration of breaches of the DMA, which became applicable two years ago.
“This is about enforcement. It’s not about trade negotiations,” commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta told reporters.
Still, the size of the fines “suggest an easing of European regulatory pressure on US tech giants,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tamlin Bason.
“Penalties under the competition law could have been as much as 10% of total revenue, but ended up being less than 0.15% of each company’s 2024 sales, likely reflecting caution on aggressive enforcement against a tense backdrop in US-EU relations,” Bason said.
Despite its fine, Apple did see EU watchdogs close an investigation into online browsers after it rejigged how it offers users more choice on their iPhones.
EU regulators also backtracked on their decision to target Facebook Marketplace under the DMA. Meta was hit by a €798 million EU fine for alleged abuses on that service last year under standard antitrust law.
Apple shares rose 3.5% and Meta advanced 7% in early New York trading while the S&P 500 Index was up 3%.
Over recent years the EU has made costly penalties against firms, including more than $8 billion in fines against Alphabet Inc.’s Google and a separate order for Apple to pay Ireland back taxes of €13 billion.
Under its abuse-of-dominance rules, it has also forced changes out of Amazon.com Inc.’s marketplace platform and Apple’s tap-and-go chip, while also investigating Microsoft Corp. video conference software, Teams.
Business
Uber, Bolt, inDrive workers to down tools in Lagos on May 1

The Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), Lagos State Chapter, is planning a 24-hour protest on May Day over alleged anti-labour practices by app-based companies including Uber, Bolt.
In a statement signed by AUATON Public Relations Officer Steven Iwindoye on Tuesday, the union said members would be staying off the apps, refusing to work, and demanding that their rights be respected.
According to Iwindoye, the union is protesting against alleged poor wages, unjust deactivations, insecurity and unsafe working conditions.
Others are excessive commissions taken by app companies, lack of proper rider profiles, mandatory facial recognition systems and harmful and exploitative work policies.
He alleged that app-based companies like Uber, Bolt, Lagride, inDrive, and Rida had ignored the union’s concerns and disrespected its rights.
Business
BACITI Advocates Market Shift for Nigerian Exporters
Nigerian agricultural and manufacturing SMEs that have carved out a market in the U.S.now face a price disadvantage.

The Bashir Adeniyi Centre for International Trade and Investment (BACITI) says that Nigerian fertilizers manufacturers and industrial goods had better consider exporting regionally under the AfCFTA .
BACITI also urges the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to help exporters cope with the tariff’s cost through rebates, tax breaks, or low-interest loans to affected exporters.
BACITI , in its Economic Insight April 2025, noted that the U.S. tariff will hit Nigeria’s non-oil export sector hardest.
Said the report: ” Many African countries rely on preferential access to the U.S.market under AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act), which granted duty-free treatment to thousands of African exports.African manufacturers who invested with AGOA preferences in mind are now at risk.
Textiles, leather, and agro-processing exports from countries like Kenya,Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, and Nigeria may now face 10–14%tariffs, rendering the uncompetitive.
This could lead to job losses in export zones and industrial park.
Nigerian agricultural and manufacturing SMEs that have carved out a market in the U.S.now face a price disadvantage.
Niche products like Nigerian cocoa butter, dried fruits, or textiles and apparels which entered the U.S. duty-free will become costlier and uncompetitive.
Fertilizer makes up 2–3% of Nigeria’s exports to the U.S. A 10-14% tariff on fertilizer could lead U.S. buyers to seek cheaper suppliers, thus Nigerian producers might lose that market or have to accept lower net prices.
While crude oil is less likely to be directly impacted by the new tariffs, the broader uncertainty stemming from the ongoing trade war is likely to exert downward pressure on global oil prices, thereby affecting Nigeria’s export revenues and fiscal stability.
Indirect macro impact via oil prices: fallin oil prices due to slow global trade and economic uncertainty.
This would further reduce Nigeria’s export earnings and government revenue. A $10 drop in oil price, for example, costs Nigeria billions in export earnings.
Fiscal and FX pressures: A decline inNigeria’s export earnings would reduce dollar inflows, placing pressure on the naira.
In times of global uncertainty or trade wars, investors often retreat from riskier markets. As a result, Nigeria could face capital outflows, further currency depreciation, and rising inflationary pressure.”
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