The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) is rumoured to have dropped its high-profile lawsuit against Meta Platforms Incorporated, the company that owns the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms.
After the regulatory body filed a notice of discontinuance before Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on September 23, 2022, ARCON filed Suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1701/2022 against Meta Platforms Incorporated and AT3 Resources Limited as a party. Justice A.M. Mohammed initially presided over the legal battle, which was later transferred to Justice Peter Lifu in 2023 after Mohammed’s retirement. This unexpected move followed the regulatory body’s filing.
The beginning of this legal battle can be traced to a resolution passed by the House of Representatives, which ordered ARCON to put controls in place over social media advertisements. Sources claim that after ARCON reached out to different platforms, Meta resisted, which prompted the first legal action.
Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, Director General of ARCON, made the following comment to the local news brand, in regards to the regulatory council’s decision: “This withdrawal is not a retreat, but a tactical redeployment. Since October 13, 2022, when the writ was filed, we’ve observed continuous violations of the Nigerian advertising code by Meta and its subsidiaries. The lack of progress in bringing the case to trial over the past two years has necessitated a reevaluation of our strategy. Management is doing this to ensure that all social media platforms are operating within the ambit of the law.”
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The significance of ARCON’s move was explained by Barrister Oloyede Lateef, a legal expert with a bias in media and advertising law. He stated: “There’s a crucial tactical difference between a case being dismissed and one being struck out. A dismissed case is essentially dead and cannot be revived. However, a struck out case, which is what we have here, can always be brought up again. This gives ARCON the flexibility to reintroduce the case in the future if necessary.”
Though opinions among industry analysts on the nation’s digital media regulations are still mixed, a sizable portion of them saw ARCON’s move to file for discontinuance as a practical move.
According to a prominent advertising executive who requested anonymity: “For a case that hasn’t gone to trial in two years, this was the logical move.”
Furthering, he added: “The issue of digital media regulation is a very dicey one, but one that is very important to sanitise that space.”
