The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) has decried the publication of online advertisement without its approval.

In a statement, The Acting Registrar of APCON, Ijedi Philomena Iyoha, said the regulatory body wanted to start regulating adverts before they were published or broadcasted on social media.

The Apex advertising regulatory agency said the exposure of advert on social media would no longer be condoned.

APCON said stiff measures will now be taken against companies that expose their communication materials or products without following due process. In Nigeria

APCON vows that “zero tolerance on the exposure of adverts on any social media platform.”

According to the government agency, all companies must adhere strictly to the Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice, Sales Promotion and other Rights Restrictions of Practice’s Articles 21 and 80 (a) which state, “all communication materials regardless of the medium to be exposed must duly be vetted by APCON before such content is exposed to the public.”

APCON is in charge of regulating the advert space and approving adverts for promotion of products and services.

APCON has had tough times dealing with plethora of online advertisement by companies, as Google, Facebook and the regulators of adverts in the digital era have been the beneficiaries.

APCON, though, appears to be losing the war on financial front in terms of advert fees and its authority to the tech companies as digital adverts make disruptive incursion into the advertising sector, still has a strong hold on the traditional media channels – Newspaper, Television, Radio, and Billboards.