Renowned human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has initiated a $5 million lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, alleging unauthorized use of his identity in a misleading health advertisement. The suit, filed in a Lagos High Court, centers on a video disseminated by a Facebook page named “AfriCare Health Centre,” which falsely portrays Falana as suffering from prostatitis—a condition he asserts he has never experienced.
In the contentious video, Falana’s name, image, and a fabricated voiceover are utilized to depict a prolonged battle with the ailment, suggesting he found relief through a specific remedy. Represented by attorney Olumide Babalola, Falana contends that this publication is “false, inaccurate, misleading, and unfair,” constituting a violation of his fundamental right to privacy as enshrined in Section 37 of the Nigerian Constitution and the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
The lawsuit seeks a court mandate compelling Meta to remove the deceptive content and demands $5 million in damages for the reputational harm inflicted by the false claims. In his affidavit, Falana describes himself as a steadfast advocate for human rights and public interest litigation, emphasizing that the viral nature of the video has caused him significant “emotional and psychological distress.”
Falana further accuses Meta of acting recklessly by permitting the unverified content to proliferate globally, leading to public ridicule and embarrassment. He asserts, “I have never had any dealings with the Respondent or its pages on issues with my health life. The video and its contents are false, inaccurate, misleading, and unfair to me. The video paints me in a false light and is an invasion of my privacy.”
Additionally, Falana alleges that Meta benefits financially from the traffic generated by such misleading content, stating, “For their failure to verify the page and video before publishing, I believe the Respondent’s publicity of my name and image in a false light was done carelessly and recklessly to draw traffic to the Respondent’s platform to boost its advertisement revenues.”
This legal action underscores the ongoing global scrutiny of Meta Platforms Inc. regarding data privacy and content regulation. Notably, in July 2024, Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission imposed a $220 million fine on Meta for multiple violations of data privacy laws, including unauthorized data appropriation and discriminatory practices against Nigerian users. The commission’s investigation revealed that Meta had engaged in invasive practices, such as collecting personal data without consent and enforcing exploitative privacy policies.
Falana’s lawsuit adds to the mounting legal challenges faced by Meta, highlighting the critical importance of responsible content management and the protection of individual privacy rights in the digital age.
