The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a N30 billion lawsuit filed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) against Meta Platforms and AT3 Resources Limited.
ARCON claimed that Meta allowed unapproved adverts in Nigeria, which led to a loss of revenue for the Nigerian government.
They asked the court to impose sanctions on Meta for breaking advertising laws and demanded that Meta pay N30 billion into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Meta argued that, as a foreign entity, it is not subject to Nigerian court jurisdiction unless it submits voluntarily.
Meta’s legal team also contended that the ARCON suit constituted an abuse of the court process.
The case was struck out after ARCON’s lawyer filed a notice of discontinuance. Justice Peter Lifu accepted the discontinuance and struck out the suit.
ARCON is a regulatory agency under the Federal Ministry of Information in Nigeria, responsible for regulating advertising practices.
Meta Platforms is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, while AT3 Resources Limited is a marketing communication company managing Meta’s reputation in West Africa.
If ARCON had won, the cost of vetting ads might have fallen on advertisers instead of Meta.
Advertisers on Facebook in Nigeria currently pay a 7.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) for displaying their ads.
