The Federal High Court in Abuja Judicial Division is scheduled to hear a N30 billion lawsuit filed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) against Meta Platforms Incorporated, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, along with its agent AT3 Resources Limited in October. This information was revealed by the Director-General of ARCON, Olalekan Fadolapo, in an exclusive interview.
ARCON’s lawsuit seeks various declarations, including one asserting that the continuous publication and exposure of advertisements on Facebook and Instagram platforms targeting the Nigerian market by Meta Platforms Incorporated, without prior vetting and approval, is illegal, unlawful, and a violation of Nigerian advertising laws. The regulatory body further claims that Meta’s practice of exposing unvetted ads has resulted in a loss of revenue for the Federal Government.
Fadolapo confirmed that the Federal High Court in Abuja had granted ARCON permission to serve a writ of summons to Meta, which was subsequently served at the company’s corporate headquarters in the United States. This step was taken as Meta had previously asserted that it did not maintain a physical office in Nigeria.
