A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has ordered Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, to pay $25,000 in damages to human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) for invading his privacy through the publication of false health information on its platform. Justice Olalekan Oresanya held that Meta, as a global technology company that hosts and monetises content, owes a duty of care to individuals affected by materials published on its platform, rejecting the firm’s argument that it merely operates as a “hosting” or “intermediary” service. The court ruled that the dissemination of false medical information about Falana breached Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and relevant provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023.
Falana had approached the court over a video posted on Facebook under the page “AfriCare Health Centre,” which falsely claimed he was suffering from prostatitis, arguing that the content was misleading and damaging to his reputation. In dismissing Meta’s defence, Justice Oresanya held that being a public figure does not extinguish the right to privacy and that Meta exercised control over content processing, monetisation and distribution, making it jointly liable as a data controller. The court found that Meta breached Section 24 of the NDPA by processing inaccurate and harmful personal data without lawful basis, stressing that platforms handling sensitive personal information must implement effective review mechanisms, prompt takedowns and safeguards against misinformation.