FG’s N30 billion lawsuit against Facebook will be heard in court in October

In October, the Federal High Court’s Abuja Judicial Division will hear the N30 billion lawsuit brought by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria against Meta Platforms Incorporated, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and its representative AT3 Resources Limited.

Olalekan Fadolapo, the Director-General of ARCON, revealed this information in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH.

ARCON is requesting a declaration that, among other things, Meta Platforms Incorporated’s continued publication and exposure of different advertisements targeted at the Nigerian market on Facebook and Instagram platforms without first ensuring that they have been reviewed and approved is illegal, unlawful, and in violation of the country’s current advertising laws.

The Federal Government has suffered a loss of money, according to the country’s top regulating agency for advertising, as a result of Meta Platforms Incorporated’s continuous display of unscreened advertisements.

Fadolapo revealed to The PUNCH that the Federal High Court in Abuja had given ARCON permission to serve Meta with a summons. The company’s American corporate headquarters received service of the writ.

He added that since Meta asserted that there was no physical presence of the company in Nigeria, it was decided to serve the company at its corporate headquarters.

“The case is coming up this October,” he stated, “because the quantity of shenanigans going on there (Facebook) is too much. However, rest assured that we will sterilise that area using all legal ways.

PUNCH