The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has been granted leave by a Federal High Court in Abuja to serve a writ of summons on social media giant Meta Platform, owner of Facebook, in a pending N30 billion suit for violating Nigerian advertising laws.
The writ is to be served at Meta’s corporate headquarters in the United States, where the company also owns Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp social media platforms. AT3 Resources Limited, a company affiliated with Meta, is also named in the lawsuit.
ARCON is seeking a declaration that the publication of various advertisements and marketing communications materials on Meta’s platforms targeted at Nigeria without prior vetting and approval by the Advertising Standards Panel is illegal. The regulatory body also claimed that the act disregarded Nigerian culture, constitutional tenets, moral values, and religious sensitivity of citizens.
ARCON is seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their privies, agents, servants, and associates from publishing any advertising or marketing communications materials without recourse to ARCON in line with the country’s advertising law.
The regulatory body is also seeking N30 billion in fines and sanctions for the continued violations and infractions of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2022.
This development is coming on the heels of recent concerns over social media regulation in Nigeria, particularly in the wake of the #EndSARS protests, which were largely coordinated on social media platforms. It is expected that this lawsuit will draw attention to the issue of social media regulation in Nigeria and its implications for freedom of expression and media freedom.
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