Court to hear FG’s suit against Facebook in October

The N30 billion lawsuit brought by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria against Meta Platforms Incorporated (owners of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms) and its representative AT3 Resources Limited will be heard by the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, in October.

This information was provided in an interview with Punch by Olalekan Fadolapo, Director-General of ARCON.

ARCON is asking for a declaration that Meta Platforms Incorporated’s continued publication and exposure of different advertisements targeted at the Nigerian market on Facebook and Instagram without making sure they are vetted and approved before exposure is illegal, unlawful, and a violation of the country’s current advertising laws.

According to ARCON, the Federal Government lost money as a result of Meta Platforms Incorporated’s prolonged exposure of unscreened advertisements.

Fadolapo told the newspaper that the Federal High Court in Abuja had authorized ARCON to serve Meta with a summons. The company’s corporate headquarters in the United States received service of the writ.

He added that once Meta asserted that the company lacked a physical office in Nigeria, the choice to serve the company at its corporate headquarters became necessary.

He said,

“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 sanitize 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.”

Remember that in October 2022, ARCON disclosed that it had filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, against Meta Platforms Incorporated and its representative AT3 Resources Limited.