Court Strikes Out FG’s N30b Illegal Ads Suit Against Meta

Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed the N30 billion alleged illegal advertisement lawsuit instituted against Meta Platforms Incorporated (owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms) and its agent AT3 Resources Limited by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria.

Justice Peter Lifu dismissed ARCON’s case with suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/1701/2022 in response to a notice of discontinuance filed by Barrister Micheal Okorie, the plaintiff’s lawyer.

The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria had filed a suit against Meta Platforms Incorporated (owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms) and its agent AT3 Resources Limited at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division.

According to a statement by the regulatory body for Nigeria’s advertising ecosystem, ARCON is requesting a declaration, among other things, that it is illegal, unlawful, and a violation of Nigeria’s current advertising laws for Meta Platforms Incorporated to continue publishing and exposing different advertisements targeted at the Nigerian market through the Facebook and Instagram platforms without first ensuring that the advertisements are vetted and approved.

ARCON alleged that the Federal Government had lost money as a result of Meta’s continuous exposure to unapproved advertisements. Consequently, ARCON requested penalties against Meta and AT3 Resources for allegedly breaking advertising laws as a result of Meta’s continuous exposure to unapproved advertisements on its platforms.

The statement read in part, “ARCON reiterates that it would not permit unethical and irresponsible advertising on Nigeria’s advertising space.”

ARCON Director-General, Olalekan Fadolapo, stated the decision to initiate legal action became necessary after several attempts to bring the company to the negotiation table proved abortive.

He said, “ARCON wrote to some online platform owners, requesting a meeting to agree on the regulatory framework and protocol for advertising on online platforms.

“Meta neither acknowledged nor attended the meeting. After a follow-up call, we got a promise that they would revert formally which never came.”

However, at resumed proceedings on Friday, Okorie told Justice Lifu that he had filed a notice of discontinuance.

The notice reads, “Take notice that the claimant hereby discontinues this suit against the defendants”.

Following Okorie’s plea, Justice Peter Lifu “struck out” the matter in line with ARCON’s request.

Meta is a multinational social technology company formerly known as Facebook Inc. and the owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other products.