Here are the people that will be affected if Facebook and Instagram are closed in Nigeria

• Nigeria is 1 of the countries wherever societal media usage is pervasive among the younger procreation and businesses alike
• Also, contented creators, businesses, firm organisations, online vendors, media houses and adjacent the authorities usage it to scope their audience
• Recently, societal media elephantine Meta threatened to unopen down Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp successful Nigeria owing to a quality with the government

In July 2024, the Nigerian government, done its regulatory agencies, fined Meta a full of $290 cardinal (N466 billion).

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) slammed a $220m good connected Meta implicit alleged anti-competitive practices.

Types of radical who volition beryllium affected if Facebook and Instagram unopen down successful Nigeria. Photo credit: Getty Images/Chris Unger and NurPhoto.
Source: Getty Images

Also, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) asked Meta to wage a good of $37.5 cardinal (N60 billion) implicit alleged unapproved advertising.

Another regulatory body, the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), besides slapped Meta with a $32.8 cardinal (N52 billion) good implicit alleged violations of information privateness laws.

However, Meta denied wrongdoing and challenged the fines successful court, but was unsuccessful.

According to BBC reporting, which cited tribunal papers, Meta said it whitethorn beryllium forced to unopen down Facebook and Instagram successful Nigeria arsenic the fines imposed connected it are unrealistic.

The BBC quoted the court papers:

"The applicant whitethorn beryllium forced to efficaciously unopen down the Facebook and Instagram services successful Nigeria successful bid to mitigate the hazard of enforcement measures."

Legit.ng has compiled a database of those that volition beryllium affected the astir if Facebook and Instagram are unopen down successful Nigeria.

1. Meta

If Meta decides to unopen down Facebook and Instagram successful Nigeria, the societal media elephantine volition arsenic suffer.

Nigeria is location to 51.2 cardinal Facebook users, according to Statista, which says the information is from December, 2024.

It says:

"As of December 2024, determination were implicit 51.2 cardinal Facebook users successful Nigeria, accounting for 21.9 per cent of the colonisation successful the country."

Also, according to Datareportal, Instagram had 9.90 cardinal users successful Nigeria successful aboriginal 2025.

Meta volition suffer advertizing gross accruing from organisations which leverage it to scope their audiences successful Nigeria.

2. Small businesses and firm bodies

Another acceptable of people who volition beryllium negatively affected if Meta shuts down Facebook and Instagram successful Nigeria are tiny businesses and firm bodies.

A batch of businesses are not conducted online via societal media. Vendors leverage connected Facebook and Instagram to scope their people customers.

Banks and different radical successful the work manufacture trust partially connected Facebook and Instagram to beryllium disposable online.

If Meta shuts down Facebook and Instagram successful Nigeria, these businesses volition beryllium astatine the receiving end.

3. Media organisations

Media organisations successful Nigeria trust heavy connected Facebook and Instagram to thrust postulation to their websites.

All superior media organisations successful Nigeria person a beingness connected Facebook and Instagram.

They person millions of followers who mightiness not adjacent retrieve their websites but cognize them done their Facebook oregon Instagram accounts.

If Facebook is unopen down, a important fig of the assemblage volition beryllium chopped off.

4. Content creators

Another booming assemblage successful Nigeria is the creator economy. Many radical has turned contented creators and they gain their surviving done Facebook and Instagram.

Nigerian creators were granted the accidental to monetise their contented opening from 2024.

Should Meta adjacent down their platforms successful Nigeria, galore creators volition lose.

5. The government

The authorities mightiness besides endure immoderate losses successful taxation gross if Meta shuts down Facebook and Instagram.

Apart from the taxation gross that volition nary longer come, the authorities itself besides uses Meta platforms to pass with the citizens.

Many Nigerians trust connected Meta platforms for communication. Photo credit: Getty Images/Cheng Xin and NurPhoto.
Source: Getty Images

Government bodies and agencies besides trust connected Facebook and Instagram to immoderate extent. If Meta closes the affected platforms, the connection opportunities they connection mightiness beryllium lost.

Nigeria is not the archetypal state to good Meta arsenic their are different regulatory bodies astir the satellite that slapped the societal media elephantine with hefty fines.

In April 2025, it was reported that the European Union slammed Meta with a good of €200m (N365 billion) implicit however overmuch prime users had to consent to information collection.

Meta cracks down connected fake accounts, pages

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Meta has rolled retired much measures that would spot genuine contented creators get much recognition for their work.

In an email connection sent to Legit.ng, Meta stated that it would assistance hardworking creators support their archetypal content.

The elephantine tech institution says it is implementing the broader measures to amended the provender acquisition and enactment creators.

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Source: Legit.ng