When I prod Nigerians, friends, classmates and mentors about the possibility of the Nigerian government sharing in the value that foreign digital global platforms gain from our data they are immediately skeptical. And for good reason: why should the government have access to the profits of a private company’s hard work? Instagram and Facebook are free services so aren’t we better off just giving our data to these foreign platforms? Many Nigerians profit from using Whatsapp and Instagram to sell their wares and products. Many Nigerians are connected to their friends, classmates and run academic projects for free using Whatsapp and Instagram. Even if the Nigerian government is to receive this value, what good will that do? Will it be misappropriated given Nigeria’s track record of corruption and financial misconduct?
While these questions are valid, it is also necessary to highlight the scope of financial disparity in Nigeria’s data market. My aim is to provide an understanding of how the value of data is captured in Nigeria, and to complicate the most common defenses of the status quo: that these global digital platforms supposedly contribute to Nigeria’s GDP and because they provide us with “free services,” they should be allowed to rein over one of the most critical resources of our lifetime. I should be clearer here that I have no problem with digital platforms processing our data, and I recognize the presence of scholarship arguing that data processing is not a consensual activity, however, that is not my interest in today’s article. Rather, what arrests my focus is that I feel the exchange is unequal. When I buy a bucket of tomatoes in the market for ₦2000, I expect that to be my money’s worth. Is access to free digital platforms commensurate to the data that these platforms process? This essay provides structure in evaluating this question.
Today, global digital platforms like META inc, parse through thousands of data points, building detailed profiles on individuals who use their services like Instagram, Facebook or Whatsap, so they can target them with ads. META’s own website describes this large-scale AI model process: it is called Meta’s Generative Ads Model (GEM). This model is central to their ad campaign; it is sourced from the data that you and I provide, and it is used globally, giving META its billions in revenue. To put this in perspective, while you sit in your room, or in class, scrolling through Instagram, GEM is processing your interactions, behaviors, and ad sequences, which it will use to drive better ads for others across the globe. You and I are essentially free guinea pigs for META’s AI training system.
Does META pay for this data it collects and processes? This is where it gets complicated.
META does not publicly release its earnings in Nigeria nor regions like West Africa, but we can analyze this through secondary reports and listings. For example, In 2025 META generated $26.5 billion from the “Rest of World“, a geographic region that includes Latin America, Africa, and parts of the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. And the following year, this Tech Africa article alleged that META’s apps particularly Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, contributed $820 Million and potentially $2 billion to the country’s GDP.
These figures direct us to assume that META is a driving force behind Nigeria’s economy, and, perhaps, should continue to harvest our data with impunity. Still, I remain skeptical. I think back to the Intro to Microeconomics course I took as a freshman in university. The class was instructed by one of the best Professors in the field, George Orlov. In the first weeks of class, Professor Orlov explained that one way to understand GDP is as value added, output minus input. So how much of the $820 million/$2 bil in Nigeria’s GDP was value added by META? The key question is not “how much activity happens on Meta?” but “how much would not have happened without Meta?” Because, imagine a fabric seller in Enugu loses Instagram, she doesn’t vanish. She moves to TikTok and X, or moves to the newspapers or uses word of mouth or connections from other consumers who have referred her. When we count the sales of a business that uses WhatsApp/Instagram/ [insert global digital platform] as “Meta’s contribution” we incorrectly credit only one aspect of the output process as the entire process. Is the electric company responsible for the output that Dangote’s Lekki Refinery generates? I could write an article titled Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) contributes ₦ 1 trillion (naira) annually to Nigeria’s Economy. I would be grossly wrong. But I could write it convincingly.
Furthermore, many Nigerians are unaware that global digital platforms like META regularly fail to pay tax in Nigeria, regardless of the fact that they generate billions of dollars in revenue by harvesting Nigerian data. Under Nigeria’s Tax Act (2025, page 18), global digital platforms are designated as entities of Significant Economic Presence (SEP). This designation means that the tax targets whatever net profits they make from business with Nigerian users, for example, income from selling advertising space to target Nigerian users. However, this approach has significant limitations in the digital economy. A platform can use aggressive transfer pricing and internal intellectual property fees to artificially inflate their (Nigerian) costs and erase their local taxable income. Furthermore, enforcement relies heavily on self-declaration, which as explained above, META does not disclose for Nigeria or other African countries. While there are legal workarounds to force disclosure, it is yet to happen. Other countries like the United Kingdom (UK) employ a Digital Service Tax (DST) which taxes gross revenue rather than net profits. Thus platforms cannot offset the value through costing because it is the pure revenue being taxed. Additionally, the tax is legally tied to the physical location of the end-user, ensuring that multinational tech corporations cannot escape liabilities by rerouting their billing addresses or contracts to tax havens. (Click here for a more explanation of Nigeria’s digital tax system with examples).
Finally, different countries are taking data value and protection more seriously and moving towards licensing regimes for data processing. One such country is Egypt. Beginning 1 November 2026, Egypt requires companies to obtain permits and licenses from its Personal Data Protection Center (PDPC) for processing activities such as operating as a data controller/processor, handling sensitive personal data, and transferring data across borders. In Nigeria, while certain forms of data are prohibited and classified sensitive (health records, financial records, Nigerian BVN, NIN, etc) the 2023 NDPA allows companies to process and transfer data across borders as long as they simply obtain user’s consent, and the destination country must have an adequate level of protection (comparable to Nigerian law). On the other hand, In Egypt, you must receive a permit to transfer data outside of the country and a separate license to even collect the data in the first place. Violations of these PDPC permits is a crime and can lead to judicial intervention, loss of permit, imprisonment, etc. In Nigeria, violation of the NDPA is a fine (which is often ignored).
One of the biggest debates in science and politics is how AI should be regulated. Most (serious) countries have already considered new AI regulation or passed new AI and data protection laws within the past five years. Nigeria is no different. I have written about Nigeria’s data protection laws (NDPR 2019 and NDPA 2023). Still, we need more. Nigerian policymakers need to understand the value of citizen data because it will inform the types of legislations they create. We need legislation that gives weight to the important resource that Data has developed to be: whether that be ownership of citizen data, a strict data licensing regime, through royalties or fees, or new tax laws. These are all avenues for further research. As Nigerians, it is so crucial to take advantage of this now and reap the benefits where we can, lest we find ourselves repeating the same woes of exploitation.