Nigerian court dismisses $25 million lawsuit against Meta — Premium Times Nigeria

The High Court of Imo State in the city of Iho, Nigeria, dismissed a $25 million lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc. over alleged violations of privacy and personal data protection rights. On July 21, Judge L. S. Alinnor concluded that the claimant, Chika Chukwuemeka, had not provided sufficient evidence of unlawful processing of her data or a violation of her right to privacy.

As Premium Times Nigeria reports, Chukwuemeka claimed that Meta collected, processed, and profiled her personal data for behavioral advertising without her consent. In her view, this violated Article 37 of Nigeria’s Constitution and provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.

Court decision

The judge noted that the claimant failed to specifically demonstrate how Meta had violated her rights or unlawfully processed her personal data. The court found insufficient grounds to grant the requests for declarations, injunctions, and damages. The lawsuit was dismissed without an award of costs.

One of Chukwuemeka’s main pieces of evidence was the final order of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission concerning Meta. The commission had previously found that the company violated the rights of more than 60 million personal data subjects in Nigeria and imposed a $32.8 million fine on it.

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Commission order set aside

Meta challenged the commission’s actions at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The parties settled the dispute, the court approved the settlement terms, and the commission’s final order concerning Meta was set aside. Judge Alinnor concluded that after this document was set aside, it could no longer serve as a basis for Chukwuemeka’s claims.

Meta denied the allegations and stated that users agree to the terms of its services when registering on Facebook and Instagram. The company also stressed that consent is not the only lawful basis for processing personal data under Nigerian legislation.

The court separately dismissed Meta’s preliminary objections regarding jurisdiction. The company had argued, in particular, that the dispute should be heard in California under its terms of use. The judge ruled that the Imo State court has territorial jurisdiction because the challenged online activities were accessible in that state.