The Nigerian Government has directed the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as the Regulator of the Information Technology sector in the country to engage vigorously with Facebook to understand the processes, level of security of the data of Nigerian users

This is in order to ensure that policies proposed for Nigeria strictly adhere to the provisions of Nigeria Data Protection Regulations (NDPR).

In a statement signed  on 21 May, 2021 by the Technical Assistant, IT, to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Femi Adeluyi, he said that the Federal Government released the Nigeria Data Protection Regulations (NDPR) in 2019 and is committed to upholding the data privacy of Nigerians.

Dr. Adeluyi said “We are also aware that the European region is exempt from the provisions of the updated Policy and it is also being challenged in a number of countries”.

He stated that “The Policy states that WhatsApp will share information about users on their platform with their parent company (Facebook), as well as other Facebook companies.  

“The information includes user phone numbers, “transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others (including businesses) when using our Services, mobile device information, your IP address.

“Furthermore, WhatsApp has indicated that users who refuse to accept their revised privacy policy risk not being able to use the service at all.

“Nigerians can be assured that the Federal Government will give uttermost attention to the privacy of their data, in line with the NDPR and the National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria” he said.