The former’s $ 32.8 million fine and a number of compliance orders issued against the latter for alleged data privacy violations involving Nigerian users have been settled between the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja, who had earlier scheduled the hearing on NDPC’s preliminary objection to Meta and its motion to amend its court filings, was informed of the development by the parties’ legal teams.
The NDPC argued in its preliminary objection that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and that Meta’s lawsuit was blatantly incompetent.
According to the Commission, Meta disregarded the guidelines for judicial review procedures set forth in Order 34 of the 2019 Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules.
The parties have “reached an advanced stage of settlement” in this case, according to Meta’s attorney, Fred Onwuobia, SAN, who urged the court to postpone the decision regarding the preliminary objection and the motion on notice to amend at the day’s proceedings.
He claimed that the parties have decided to settle and that settlement is the best course of action. He also emphasized that they “are afraid” that the decision will have an impact on settlement discussions.
He urged the court to postpone the hearing for a report on settlement, noting that “the draft terms of the settlement have been exchanged.”
Adedipe, SAN, confirmed Meta’s lawyer’s assertions, noting that “settlement discussions have significantly advanced.”
He urged the court to adjourn so that the parties could file a settlement agreement that the court would designate as “consent judgment.”
Justice Omotosho responded to the parties by saying that the court favors settlement and that he was reluctant to issue his decision.
He then adjourned until October 31, 2025, for either a decision or an adoption of the settlement terms.
The NDPC issued eight corrective orders in February of this year in response to allegations that Meta had broken the Nigeria Data Protection Act and had been fined $32.8 million.
The Personal Data Protection Awareness Initiative (PDPAI), a civil society organization, claimed Meta engaged in behavioural advertising on Facebook and Instagram without getting Nigerian users’ express permission, according to a petition received from the Commission.
The Commission charged Meta with, among other infractions, including failing to submit a 2022 compliance audit, breaking cross-border data transfer regulations, and processing data from non-users of its platforms.
However, Meta fought the conclusions and the procedures that led to the NDPC’s Final Orders through its lawsuit.
Meta argued in a March 19 motion that it was denied fair hearing and due process, alleging that the Commission had not given it enough notice or opportunity to respond prior to issuing the orders.
According to Meta’s lead attorney, Prof. Gbolahan Elias, SAN, the enforcement orders violate Section 36 of the Nigerian Constitution, which the court is required to reverse.
Adeola Adedipe, SAN, the NDPC’s attorney, argued that Meta’s original summons and its accompanying statements were inconsistent, making the entire case ineffective.
He claimed that Meta is trying to use an amendment to replace its already ex parte reliefs with new claims, which the court rules.
He pleaded with the court to completely reject the application.
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In response, Meta’s legal team requested on April 23 to have the initial statement changed to reflect the relief that was already stated in the summons, in an effort to harmonize the documents.
Prior to now, Justice James Omotosho, the presiding judge, had previously allowed Meta to start judicial review proceedings but had refrained from granting the request to suspend NDPC’s orders.
Source: Channels TV
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