logo
Meta fighting Nigerian fines, warns could shut Facebook, Instagram

Meta fighting Nigerian fines, warns could shut Facebook, Instagram

Daily Tribune04-05-2025

AFP | Lagos
Meta yesterday vowed to fight Nigerian fines for various consumer data violations as the US tech giant reportedly threatened to cut off Facebook and Instagram in Africa's most populous country.
The social media juggernaut last week lost its latest legal bid when a Nigerian tribunal rejected its appeal against a $220 million fine imposed by the country's consumer protection agency, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
In appeals court papers cited by various media, including the BBC and The Africa Report, Meta said it 'may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures'.
Meta's social media platforms -- WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram -- are among the most popular in the country.
Meta has until the end of June to pay the fine, Nigerian media reported.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Starting July 1: WhatsApp Business Rolls Out Major Pricing Changes
Starting July 1: WhatsApp Business Rolls Out Major Pricing Changes

Gulf Insider

time4 days ago

  • Gulf Insider

Starting July 1: WhatsApp Business Rolls Out Major Pricing Changes

In a significant move for businesses worldwide, WhatsApp Business has announced a revamped pricing model for its WhatsApp Business Platform, set to take effect on July 1, 2025. The update introduces per-message billing, revised rates, and volume-based discounts for utility and authentication messages—aligning the platform with industry-standard practices seen on other messaging channels. WhatsApp will now charge businesses per template message sent, rather than relying on broader session-based models. This means that if a company sends a single marketing and one utility message, they'll incur separate charges for each message type. 'This update aligns our pricing structure with other leading communication platforms that already operate on a per-message basis,' said a WhatsApp spokesperson. Businesses can still respond to customer inquiries for free within a designated 24-hour customer service window, which resets every time a user sends a new message. During this period, companies can send both free-form and utility messages at no cost. 'This gives businesses more flexibility and choice when responding to customers, without worrying about added fees,' WhatsApp noted in its update. To support growth, WhatsApp Business will roll out market-specific volume tiers for utility and authentication messages. As businesses scale up, they'll automatically benefit from reduced pricing in higher tiers. 'The more messages you send, the more you save,' WhatsApp stated. 'Volume-based pricing makes the platform more cost-effective for growing businesses.' These volume tiers are category-specific and market-based. For instance, a business sending utility messages in Brazil would qualify for a separate pricing tier than one sending authentication messages in India. Predictable billing with per-message pricing No cost for responses within the customer service window Lower rates at higher volumes, incentivising platform growth Alignment with global communication pricing standards This pricing update signals WhatsApp's continued commitment to supporting business communication while ensuring cost-efficiency and scalability. Companies leveraging the WhatsApp Business Platform should review the new pricing structure closely to optimise their messaging strategies before the July 1 rollout.

Meta AI bot used a billion times monthly: Mark Zuckerberg
Meta AI bot used a billion times monthly: Mark Zuckerberg

Daily Tribune

time4 days ago

  • Daily Tribune

Meta AI bot used a billion times monthly: Mark Zuckerberg

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg touted the tech firm's generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) assistant on Wednesday, telling shareholders it is used by a billion people each month across its platforms. Zuckerberg noted the milestone anew at Meta's annual gathering of shareholders and as the social media behemoth vies with Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and others to be a leader in Gen AI. It was not clear how much Meta AI use involved people seeking out the chatbot versus passive users of Meta AI, as it is built into features in its family of apps. Since Google debuted AI Overviews in search results a year ago, it has grown to more than 1.5 billion users, according to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai. 'That means Google Search is bringing Gen AI to more people than any other product in the world,' Pichai said. Google's AI Overviews are automatically provided summaries of search results that appear instead of the previous practice of simply showing pages of blue links to revelant websites. Pichai said last week that Google's dedicated Gemini AI app has more than 400 million monthly users. Tech rivals are rapidly releasing new AI products despite ongoing challenges with preventing misinformation and establishing clear business models, and little sense of how the tech will affect society. Meta unveiled its first standalone AI assistant app on April 29, giving users a direct path to its Gen AI models. 'A billion people are using Meta AI across our apps now, so we made a new standalone Meta AI app for you to check out,' Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a video posted on Instagram at the time. Zuckerberg said the app 'is designed to be your personal AI' and would be primarily accessed through voice conversations with the interactions personalized to the individual user.

Trump Administration Orders Us to Halt Student Visa
Trump Administration Orders Us to Halt Student Visa

Gulf Insider

time6 days ago

  • Gulf Insider

Trump Administration Orders Us to Halt Student Visa

US embassies across the world have been ordered by the Trump Administration to put an immediate halt to visa interviews for foreign students. According to reporting by US news site Politico, the US is planning to monitor social media posts of all foreign students planning to study in the country. A briefing issued from Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent on Tuesday ordered embassies to stop arranging future interviews. The message sent by the state department said: 'Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel (separate telegram), which we anticipate in the coming days'. Reports said vetting of social media posts by people applying to study in the US will require consular staff to look through comments and posts on platforms such as X, Instagram, and TikTok for content perceived to threaten national security. There are currently more than one million foreign students in the US, and they contributed approximately $448bn to the national economy in 2023-2024, according to National Association of Foreign Student Advisers data. Foreign students support around 380,000 jobs in the USA. Also read: US Removes Syria Sanctions In Implementation Of Trump's 'Fresh Start' Vision

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store