The N30 billion suit filed against Meta owners of Facebook and Instagram and WhatsApp by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON, is set to be heard this month by the federal high court in Abuja, The Punch reports.
The Director-General of ARCON, Olalekan Fadolapo, made the disclosure, saying the Council is doing all within its power to curb the illegal activities of the social media powerhouse.
The Council had sued Meta for illegally exposing advertisements to the Nigerian market through its various platforms.
ARCON is seeking a declaration among others that the continued publication and exposure of various advertisements directed at the Nigerian market through Facebook and Instagram platforms by Meta Platforms Incorporated, without ensuring the same is vetted and approved before exposure is illegal, unlawful, and a violation of the extant advertising Law in Nigeria.
The agency claimed that huge revenue has been lost by the federal government as a result of unvetted adverts by Meta.
Fadolapo stated that the court had granted ARCON a leave to serve a writ of summons to Meta, adding that the writ was served at the company’s United States corporate headquarters.
He said the decision to serve the company at its corporate headquarters became necessary after Meta claimed that it did not have any physical office in Nigeria.
According to him, “The case is coming up this October, because the level of shenanigans that is happening in that place (Facebook) is too much. But trust me, we will use all legal means to sanitise that space.
“What we are saying is that what they are showing to the Nigerian audience, which is our territorial space is indecent. We will not go and regulate the media in the US, but what we will do is regulate the media space here in Nigeria.
“They said they don’t have an office in Nigeria, but they are doing business in Nigeria. So, we are not concerned about their office, we are concerned about the business they are doing in Nigeria. If you are doing business in Nigeria, you are supposed to abide by Nigerian laws.”
The suit was first instituted in October 2022.
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