The N30 billion lawsuit filed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria against Meta Platforms Incorporated (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and its agent AT3 Resources Limited is scheduled for a hearing at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division in October.

ARCON’s Director-General, Olalekan Fadolapo, revealed this information during an interview with The PUNCH.

ARCON aims to secure a declaration, asserting that the ongoing publication and dissemination of advertisements targeting the Nigerian market via Facebook and Instagram by Meta Platforms Incorporated, without prior vetting and approval, are in violation of Nigerian advertising laws, illegal, and unlawful.

The regulatory body has emphasized that Meta Platforms Incorporated’s unvetted adverts have resulted in a loss of revenue for the Federal Government.

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.

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 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.”