Meta appeals Lagos court ruling that banned its behavioural ad tracking without consent

On September 25, a Lagos High Court ruled Meta unlawfully processed Nigerians' data on Facebook and Instagram for behavioural advertising without valid consent. The court ordered Meta to stop this processing, comply with Nigeria's data protection laws, and pay applicants $100,000 in damages. Meta filed its appeal just five days later on September 30, meaning the September ruling is not yet final while the appeal proceeds.

The court rejected Meta's argument that advertising-related profiling is automatically necessary just because ads fund its free service. This case differs from Meta's 2024 FCCPC penalty of $220 million for data practices and competition issues, but it highlights ongoing questions about Nigerians' control over how Big Tech uses their data. For now, nothing changes on your Instagram or Facebook feed since the appeal suspends the ruling's enforcement.

If the judgment survives appeal, Meta may need to rethink how it obtains consent for data processing and handles Nigerian users' data when processed outside Nigeria. This coincides with Nigeria's push for data sovereignty to keep more locally generated data within the country. Will you review your social media privacy settings more carefully given these legal challenges to how platforms track your online behaviour?

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/10/02/techcabal-daily-metas-ad-verse-ruling/