The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on Mr Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman and CEO of Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook), to immediately pay the $220 million fine imposed by Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and upheld by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal.
In an open letter dated 26 April 2025 and signed by Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged Mr Zuckerberg and Meta not only to pay the fine but also to provide justice, effective remedies, adequate compensation, and assurances of non-repetition for victims of serious breaches of Nigerian consumer, data protection, and privacy laws, as well as international human rights standards.
SERAP also pressed Meta to promptly pay the $35,000 awarded by the Tribunal to the FCCPC as the cost of its investigation.
The Tribunal’s ruling, delivered last Friday, followed a 38-month joint investigation by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into Meta’s practices on Facebook and WhatsApp. It found Meta guilty of grave violations of consumer rights, data protection, and privacy laws.
“As Chairman and CEO, you have a responsibility to ensure enhanced transparency, human rights due diligence, accountability and remediation by Meta, to protect Nigerians’ human rights,” SERAP stated.
The organisation warned that the violations identified by the Tribunal could be ongoing and risk reoccurring if not effectively addressed. It urged Mr Zuckerberg and Meta to avoid prolonging the harm to victims by resisting the temptation to appeal the Tribunal’s judgment, as permitted under Section 55 of the FCCP Act.
SERAP requested Meta to take the following actions within seven days of receiving or the publication of the letter:
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Pay the $220 million fine and the $35,000 investigation cost.
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Publicly commit to compliance with the Tribunal’s judgment.
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Identify and compensate the victims of the violations.
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Provide effective remedies and assurances of non-repetition.
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Disclose any human rights due diligence measures undertaken.
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Outline how Meta is applying the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in its Nigerian operations.
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Publish transparency reports regarding the violations found by the Tribunal.
SERAP warned that if Meta fails to act within the deadline, it would pursue all appropriate legal actions at national, regional, or international levels to compel compliance in the public interest.
