Nigeria: The Advertising Regulation Council of Nigeria (Arcon) Sues Meta and Its Local Agent for Failing to Get Its Advertising Approved

7 October 2022
Balancing Act (London)

London — Nigeria's advertising regulator ARCON has chosen to pick a fight with social media giant Meta over advertising approval and content. Russell Southwood looks at the implications of this legal spat and whether others will now go down the same road.

ARCON has sued Meta (covering its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms) and what it describes as its local agent AT3 Resources for US$70 million in a case that will be heard in the Federal High Court in Abuja.

AT3 Resources website lists it as a public relations and events consultancy which lists Facebook as a client. If this is true, it seems rather a stretch to go after Facebook's local PR consultancy as it could reasonably argue that as a third party it has no control over Meta's advertising processes.

The case seems to have been bought on two grounds. Firstly, ARCON says that it has been set up to vet and approve online ads as part of its work and that Meta is not complying by asking for pre-approval of its advertising. ARCON says that it will not permit unethical and irresponsible advertising in Nigeria's advertising space.

Secondly, according to ARCON director Olalekan Fadolapo from 1 October 2022 (7 days ago) the Act setting up the regulatory agency: "bans the use of foreign models and voice over artists on any advertisement targeted or exposed on the Nigerian advertising space... "

Essentially this is a protectionist position seeking to increase the freelance fees that might be paid to local talent. On this basis, ARCON rather confusingly talks a loss of revenue to the Federal Government.

In January this year, the Federal Government lifted a seven month ban on Twitter after it had taken down a tweet by President Buhari threatening punishment against regional secessionists blamed for attacks on Government buildings.

Beyond online advertising, there is a wider issue here is that Facebook assures us that its improved AI and algorithms will catch 'bad' content while at the same time employing 15,000 or so content moderators to make human decisions. Its AI can't tell the difference between harmless pictures of breastfeeding mothers and pictures of classical sculptures and what it would deem as more harmful material. And like Google, it feeds like a vampire on online advertising revenues that should be more equitably distributed.

There will be many watching the progress of this case and if it is even partially successful, there may be others who will want to take on Meta in their local courts. Perhaps on sounder grounds, Nigeria's National Broadcasting Commission addressed the subject of exclusive sports rights in 2020. The issue is whether national Governments - even of countries as large as Nigeria - can take on international companies and win, whatever the strengths and weaknesses of their case.

In Brief

Netflix will premiere a series of Nollywood films this month including Soólè on October 14.b The Nigerian-comedy film tells the story of a group of eccentric strangers caught in a cat-and-mouse game with dangerous criminals while travelling from Lagos to Enugu. Directed by Kayode Kasum and distributed by FilmOne entertainment, the film's cast include Sola Sobowale, Lateef Adedimeji, Femi Jacobs, Meg Otanwa, Shawn Faqua, Bukunmi Oluwasina, Eso Dike, and many more. Other Nollywood films on the platform include 'Dwindle', 'Lockdown', 'Omo Ghetto: The Saga' and 'Osuofia in London'.

BC Studios has upped its stake to take full ownership of UK scripted indie Firebird Pictures. It is making an adaptation of Nikki May's debut novel, Wahala, written by Theresa Ikoko for BBC One, due to shoot in the UK next year.

South Africa: To increase their streaming numbers, South African satellite TV service DStv, owned by MultiChoice, has launched packages that will bundle DStv streaming bouquets and unlimited fibre internet at discounted prices. According to the broadcaster, the packages, which will be offered to streaming subscribers only, combine a DStv Compact or Premium subscription, DStv Streama streaming box, and a 25/10Mbps fibre connection and will cost US$39 for the Compact package and US$56 for the Premium package. Two weeks ago, at its annual media showcase event, MultiChoice announced price slashes on its stand-alone streaming service, which it launched at the end of 2020.

Ethiopian incumbent operator Ethio Telecom will launch a music and video streaming service in the coming weeks.

South Africa: The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has revealed that it has acquired broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and FIFA Women's World Cup Australia/New Zealand 2023.

Kenya: The Kenyan film Safari, produced by Rocque Pictures Ltd, directed by Kenyan Bill Afwani, and distributed by Rushlake Media, will have its world-premiere at The Cinekid Festival in the Netherlands on 17 October 2022. Rushlake Media acquired the film for international sales prior to the festival selection and will represent the film globally.

Zimbabwe: In Zimbabwe, Gerald Mlotshwa - a prominent lawyer and a relative of the country's President - has formally bought a significant equity stake at the privately-owned multimedia house Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), run by local publisher Trevor Ncube. According to media reports, the sale comes amid a mixture of operational challenges within the company after it emerged this week that management told representatives of workers during a works council meeting that it intends to retrench 30 per cent of employees due to mounting recurrent losses weighing down the company, which has been technically insolvent for years due to a debt overhang and fast dwindling revenue inflows fuelled by economic problems and technological disruptions. Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) is a leading media group in Zimbabwe, publishing the NewsDay, The Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent, and online broadcasting platform, Heart & Soul Radio/TV.

Kenya: Kenya has banned all film content containing LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) content. This follows a statement by Christopher Wambua, Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) CEO, saying that same-sex films and movies are prohibited in the Kenyan Constitution; therefore, the board will continue its crackdown on such content in the mainstream media. Wambua said, "The country's laws do not allow LGBTQ+ content or relationships. Even as we rate and classify content, we also consider other applicable laws."

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