A prominent Nigerian civil society organization, the Personal Data Protection Awareness Initiative, has submitted a formal petition to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) condemning the practices of Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for conducting behavioral advertising without obtaining opt-in consent from users.
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In the petition addressed to the National Commissioner of NDPC, the convener, Ozoemena F. Nwogbo LLM, CIPP/E ACIArb., expressed its strong opposition to Meta’s behavioral advertising practices on their Facebook and Instagram platforms.
According to the Civil Society Organisation, the practice involves tracking user behavior to deliver targeted advertisements without seeking explicit consent, which the organization argues directly contradicts the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA).
In their petition, the Personal Data Protection Awareness Initiative, cited specific sections of NDPA, including 25(a), 26(2),(3),(4),(6),(7a), 35(1),(2), 36, 36(3), and 37(1), which mandate companies to obtain explicit opt-in consent from users before processing their personal data for advertising purposes. The organization contends that Meta’s practices undermine users’ privacy rights as stipulated in NDPA.
The petition includes excerpts from Meta’s Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy that highlight their behavioral advertising practices and reliance on pre-selected opt-out options, which the organization claims disregard user informed, explicit consent.
It also pointed out that Meta’s requirement for users to navigate through multiple policy layers to exercise their rights contrary to NDPA’s principles and against the principles of data protection by design and default , which states that privacy friendly settings , should be default settings, that the Data Subject need not do anything .
Behavioral advertising, a practice involving extensive user behavior tracking for targeted ads, poses significant privacy concerns.
The organization argues that Meta’s practices without opt-in consent leave users vulnerable to exploitation and infringement, undermining user control over personal data and eroding trust in the digital ecosystem.
The organization emphasized that explicit opt-in consent is crucial to upholding users’ rights to object to profiling or automated decision-making, as guaranteed in Sections 36(3) & 37(1) of NDPA.
By neglecting to obtain explicit consent, the organization asserts that Meta not only violates NDPA’s essence but also encroaches upon users’ privacy and autonomy.
In their petition, the organization calls upon the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to intervene and ensure that Meta complies with NDPA by:
1. Ceasing all behavioral advertising practices lacking explicit opt-in consent.
2. Implementing transparent mechanisms for informed consent in behavioral advertising.
3. Communicating transparently with users about data collection and tracking practices.
4. Respecting users’ right to opt out of behavioral advertising.
5. Personal Data Protection Awareness Initiatives, requests a response from Meta within 14 days, addressing their concerns and outlining an action plan to rectify the issues. Failure to respond appropriately may prompt further advocacy measures.
The Personal Data Protection Awareness Initiative, a registered Civil Society Organization since 2011, advocates for digital rights and privacy under relevant sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, Nigerian Data Protection Regulation 2019 (NDPR), and NDPA.
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