Nigeria’s Advertising Council Slams N30bn Lawsuit Against Facebook Owners Over Violation Of Nigerian Advertising Laws

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.

Downloads btlsblog mobile app on playstore
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wBtlsblog_13609357

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.