Regulation: Again, ARCON warns on exposure of unapproved herbal drugs on social media

THE Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has, again, warned individuals and brands, over unapproved and unethical exposure of traditional and herbal remedy drugs advertisement on TikTok, describing the use of individual’s voice and image, without consent as and punishable under the law.

The apex regulatory body in the advertising industry gave the warning in a statement, by its Director General, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, over the weekend.

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The agency expressed particular concern at the recent AI-generated advertisement, using  the image and voice of the Minister  of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Mohammed Alli Pate, to promote  a product, targeted at treating prostrate cancer, weak erection and other men’s health conditions.

It described the advertisement as misleading, since it was presented in a way depicting the Health Minister as personally  endorsing the product.

The agency stated that while the advert was AI-generated, its investigation also revealed that the image and voice of the minister were used with the intention of misleading the public and defrauding unsuspecting Nigerians.

“ARCON will take all necessary steps, including legal actions to sanction platform owners, advertisers and advertisement agencies that engage in the exposure of unethical advertisements,   it stated.

The agency, therefore, stressed the need for stakeholders to recommit themselves to the principles of  truthful, legal, decent and responsible advertising, guiding the practice, insisting that the era of false and misleading advertising was over.