Business
APCON issues new guidelines for online advertising in Nigeria
Advertisers that violate the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria’s (APCON) requirements, such as those who promote substandard and unverifiable advertising messages, will be punished.
Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, the APCON Registrar, said at a news conference in Lagos on Monday that digital media had become a safe haven for unscrupulous elements to publicize commercial messages that violated Nigerian advertising rules.
According to him, the era of floating commercial messages on social media that promote social vices like money rituals and unnatural bodily enhancement (breast augmentation) is over.
The National Assembly had empowered APCON to take action against anyone who advocates activities that demean the professional practice of advertising, he said.
Read also: APCON threatens Sterling Bank with sanction over Agege Bread advert
He said, “With the increase of digital media activities in Nigeria and accessibility of online media platforms, we have been faced with a new threat of unethical and provocative advertising and marketing communication materials which have every potential of inflaming religious crisis, moral decadence and misleading information when allowed to thrive with attendant negative effect on the country, its economy and value system.
“The advent of the Internet and new media, characterised with social networking sites such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp etc., has revolutionised communication globally.
“All the giant tech and primary digital media platforms owners such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc have been exploring the Nigerian digital media space with all sort of advertisements some of which are in violation of the Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice, pre-exposure vetting and ethical requirements of an advertisement.”
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