The federal government o Nigeria has issued more stringent regulations for social media influencer and content creators. It claimed that this move is in a bid to prevent Nigerians from becoming victims of fraudulent schemes that are not registered.
According to the federal government, an important approval will now be needed before social media influencers, content producers, and others can run their advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms.
This approval according to the directive is to be secured from the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).
In a statement released on Monday, ARCON expressed worry over the abundance of deceptive and fraudulent advertisements on various social media sites.
According to the statement, which was signed by Olalekan Fadolapo, the Director-General of ARCON, the government will no longer stand by and watch as professionalism and ethics are compromised at the expense of Nigerians.
Fadolapo cited the recent CBEX episode, in which about 600,000 Nigerians were tricked into the scam, as an obvious example of the disastrous consequences of misleading advertising.
NaijaEyes earlier reported that a supposed investment platform, CBEX, collapsed, causing its Nigerian investors to loose millions of naira.
The platform allegedly spread through internet advertisements, word-of-mouth, and referrals, promising to double investors’ money in 30 days. The National Assembly and regulatory bodies such as the SEC and the EFCC responded to the outcry from investors on social media.
The statement read in part, “Such tragedies show the importance of vetting advertising materials for honesty, transparency, and compliance with ethical standards before dissemination.”
FG to clamp down on unapproved social media ads
The Director-General of ARCON urged all Nigerians, particularly those involved in the advertising sector, to make sure that only authorised advertisements are displayed across all platforms.
Fadolapo emphasised that the agency is also in charge of digital and social media advertisements.
According to reports, a federal high court upheld the ARCONs authority and jurisdiction over all media channels, including social and digital media.
He also noted that a separate compliance task force has been established to police compliance and keep an eye on advertisements on all platforms.
He called on the public to report advertisements that seem dubious and misleading to the agency, and he asked social media influencers and content producers to follow the guidelines.
Join Our Social Media Channels:
WhatsApp: NaijaEyes
Facebook: NaijaEyes
Twitter: NaijaEyes
Instagram: NaijaEyes
TikTok: NaijaEyes
