In a striking legal victory for human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), a Lagos State High Court has held Meta Platforms Inc. accountable for spreading false information about his health. The court awarded Falana $25,000 in damages after a video circulated on Facebook in early 2025 falsely claimed he was suffering from a terminal illness.
Justice Olalekan Oresanya ruled that Meta had violated Nigeria’s Data Protection Act by processing personal data that was “inaccurate, harmful, lacking lawful basis, and unfair.” The court described the publication of false health information as “unlawful processing of sensitive personal data,” marking a rare legal acknowledgment of the serious consequences of misinformation on digital platforms.
Meta had argued that it was merely a hosting platform and should not be held responsible for the content posted by users. The court disagreed, stating that companies that monetize content and control its distribution cannot escape liability when harm is foreseeable.
The judgment also clarified that being a public figure does not strip someone of the right to privacy. Justice Oresanya emphasized that “health data attracts heightened legal protection irrespective of public status” and that spreading false medical claims is an intrusion into personal life.
Meta’s role in controlling content and monetizing pages made it a “joint data controller” alongside page owners, the court said, making the company vicariously liable for the video’s harmful impact. The judge also criticized the platform for failing to implement adequate safeguards to prevent such incidents.
This ruling is being viewed as a landmark moment for privacy rights and digital accountability in Nigeria, signaling that even global tech giants must answer for misinformation and breaches of personal data on their platforms.
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