ARCON bars agencies, influencers from advertising without approval, warns against deceptive promotions

Nigeria’s advertising regulatory body has warned advertisers and influencers sternly against deceptive and unvetted promotions.

Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), in a statement on Monday by its Director General, Olalekan Fadolapo, vowed strict enforcement of social media adverts.

According to the council, any person or entity—whether an agency, brand owner, content creator, influencer, or individual that engages in advertising activities and advertises to the Nigerian public must adhere to ARCON’s regulatory framework.

“The era of lawless advertising is over,” the council warns. “Let all those who are involved in the business of persuasion know: ARCON is watching, and the law will be enforced.”

The development follows the recent landmark judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Lagos in suit No. FHC/L/CS/1262/2024, which affirms ARCON’s statutory powers to regulate advertising and marketing communications across all media platforms— including traditional and the new media.

Strict enforcement

“In light of this judgment and recent disturbing developments in the marketplace, ARCON is issuing a strong warning to all stakeholders involved in the conceptualisation, production, dissemination, and placement of advertisements in Nigeria,” the statement said.

“We are deeply concerned about the growing trend of deceptive advertising, particularly on digital platforms, which misleads the public, exploits their trust, and leaves them vulnerable to financial and emotional harm.”

Mr Fadolapo noted that a recent and painful example of deception in advertising is the CBEX Ponzi scheme, which was “aggressively promoted through misleading and unverified advertising claims.”

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the scheme lured thousands of Nigerians with false promises of guaranteed returns, only for many to lose their hard-earned money to fraudulent operators.

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Videos of people who have lost money to the Ponzi scheme have flooded social media.

The estimated losses are pegged at N1.3 trillion, according to a recent analysis by Taiwo Owolabi, a cryptocurrency and security expert.

The analysis showed how investors’ funds were diverted into a central wallet, which was holding at least $857 million in USDT (equivalent of N1.3 trillion).

The council said the development highlights the importance of vetting advertising materials for honesty, transparency, and compliance with ethical standards before dissemination.

Approval

The regulatory body said henceforth, all advertisements must be vetted and approved by ARCON before being shown to the Nigerian public, whether they appear on television, radio, billboards, newspapers, social media platforms, or any other channel.

Mr Fadola reiterated that any advert that misrepresents facts, omits critical information, or is designed to exploit vulnerable audiences will not be tolerated.

“Social media is not an unregulated space,” the statement read in part. “The court has declared that platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and others fall within our regulatory purview.

“Influencers and content creators advertising products or services are required to obtain prior approval of the advertisements before exposure.

“Any individual or entity that publishes or exposes unapproved adverts flouts ARCON’s regulations and will be subject to investigation. Where violations are established, ARCON will forward the matter to the Advertising Offences Tribunal, which has the legal authority to impose sanctions, including fines and other penalties.”

Mr Fadolapo hinted that the council is currently strengthening its monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. Also, a special compliance task force has been mandated to track advertisements across all platforms and swiftly identify and flag non-compliant content.

Landmark judgement

The lawsuit was filed by Digi Bay Limited (trading under the name and style of Betway Nigeria), Super Group Limited, and Otunba Kunle Olamuyiwa against the Attorney General of the Federation and ARCON in 2024.

The originating summons, dated 12 July 2024, sought a judicial determination of ARCON’s powers, especially as it related to advertising content published on digital platforms and by individuals not registered as advertising practitioners.

The court held that ARCON possesses the statutory authority to regulate all forms of advertising, regardless of the platform on which they appear. The judgment stated unequivocally that ARCON’s regulatory mandate extends beyond registered advertising agencies to include private individuals who engage in advertising activities.

The judge emphasised that the determining factor is the nature of the activity, which is advertising, not the status of the individual or entity as a practitioner or non-practitioner.

Reactions

In his reaction to the court ruling, a marketer on X questioned how seamless the approval process will be. He expressed frustrations over the torrent of regulations at different levels people and businesses now have to contend with.

@Mazi_Ifenna, a lawyer, explained to his followers via X that the judgement meant that skit makers or content creators, who advertise products in their videos, are required to submit their skits to ARCON for vetting of the advert before release.

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John Oladapo, a tech lawyer on X, described the ARCON Act as a “regulatory nightmare.”

Meanwhile, in 2023, the regulatory council filed a N30 billion ($44 million) lawsuit against Meta Platforms Incorporated(Owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), alleging that the company violated Nigerian advertising laws by running unvetted adverts on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.