The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and the Heads of the Advertising Sectoral Group (HASG) held a meeting at the ARCON house in Lagos last Tuesday 25 June 2024 to dissect key issues surrounding digital /media regulations in Nigeria.
The HASG led by the Chairman, Dr. Femi Adelusi with other Presidents & Leaders of the sectoral bodies including Steve Babaeko, President of AAAN; Kenny Ogungbe representing BON; Tolu Medebem, President of EXMAN; Dr. Yemisi Bamgbose, Executive Secretary of BON and President of OAAN, Sola Akinsiku engaged with Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, DG of ARCON and Martha Onyebuchi, the Director of Regulation, on concerns of advertisers, agencies, content creators, business owners and some stakeholders.
They emphasised the need for continuous engagement of stakeholders on digital/social media regulations in Nigeria.
According to the bodies, the areas to be focused on include the definition/understanding of what constitutes advertising on these platforms, challenges related to scope, platform peculiarities, content classification, use of stock images, use of AI-generated images, vetting process, control/tracking, enforcement & penalties, awareness and education across the ecosystem etc.
The meeting also highlighted the opportunities for the local creative industry to take advantage of opportunities in the area of image bank development for the industry, adaptive technology opportunities and the numerous benefits etc.
The DG allayed the fears and concerns of the stakeholders, emphasising that the regulations are not meant to stifle or strangle the creative marketing processes and connected enterprises. Dr. Fadolapo re-echoed the commission’s open-door policy and willingness to engage stakeholders widely in finding common grounds for progress for the benefit of our practice in the light of the pace & dynamism required in today’s marketing communication and technology landscape.
The HASG expressed the need to have in place a new Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) to ensure the representation of all key stakeholders in the vetting and approval process of advertising and marketing materials.
The DG also assured that the commission is working with the stakeholders in line with the Advertising Act to have an active and properly constituted ASP.
He mentioned that some sectors are yet to send the names and profiles of their representatives to ARCON. The DG assured the HASG that the process would be completed within the upcoming month with the support of all stakeholders.