The Federal High Court in Abuja has stood down on a lawsuit initiated by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) against Meta Platforms Incorporated, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
In October 2022, ARCON filed the suit against Meta and its agent, AT3 Resources Limited, alleging that they had been displaying unapproved advertisements to Nigerian audiences.
However, on Friday, the presiding judge, Peter Lifu, dismissed the case following a notice of discontinuance submitted by Michael Okorie, counsel for ARCON.
ARCON's Position
In its writ of summons, ARCON contended that Meta, represented in Nigeria by AT3, had been disseminating unvetted advertisements, resulting in a loss of revenue for the federal government.
ARCON argued that Meta's advertising and marketing communications on various online and social media platforms constitute a significant source of the company's global revenue, including in Nigeria. The council cited online statistics from 2022, indicating that approximately 37 million Nigerians actively use Meta's social media platforms and are exposed to advertisements and marketing communications that have not received ARCON's approval.
Furthermore, ARCON alleged that the defendants had failed to pay the required statutory vetting fees to the federal government for each advertisement and marketing communication displayed on their platforms, in violation of Nigeria's advertising regulations.
Consequently, ARCON sought a sanction of N30 billion against Meta for its continued breach of Nigerian advertising laws and the resultant loss of revenue, to be paid into the federal government's treasury single account (TSA).
Meta's Defense
Meta, represented by its counsel, Tayo Otetibo, challenged the court's jurisdiction to hear the case. Otetibo asserted that Meta is a foreign entity registered in the United States of America and has not submitted to the jurisdiction of the Nigerian court.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment