The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has revealed that it is currently in discussions with tech companies Google and TikTok, concerning a proposed social media regulation bill.
The Director of NBC Francisca Aiyetan, highlighted the commission’s plan to regulate social media, to prevent it from misguiding young Nigerians, amongst other issues.
In her words,
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“Every country is making efforts to regulate social media, and Nigeria also is making efforts because we know that there are a lot of things to harness from it. But if not regulated, it can also be a platform that will misguide our young people.
“The level we are now is discussing with stakeholders so to agree that, yes, we need to regulate social media and at that level, there should be legislation; there should be strengthening of the law to factor in all the things that are new in the broadcasting and content-sharing space.
“And then, when you have the power and the enablement by law to do such things, then we can now look at, do we have the way to do it technology-wise? Nevertheless, presently what we do is that we engage the platform owners as a regulator, we engage Google YouTube, and TikTok, so we know the faces behind these platforms.”
NBC is expressing concerns related to social media usage in Nigeria, especially regarding issues like fake news, hate speech, and the dissemination of harmful or inappropriate content.
Recall that earlier, the Director-General of the NBC, Balarabe Ilelah disclosed that the commission had sent a regulation bill to the National Assembly. He described the ills of social media as a “monster”, lamenting that the current law does not give the commission the right to control social media.
Therefore, NBC’s discussions with Google and TikTok may involve exploring the legal and regulatory frameworks governing social media platforms in Nigeria.
The proposed bill might include provisions that impact the operations of these tech companies, and NBC could be seeking their compliance and support in adhering to these regulations.
Content moderation is a critical aspect of social media regulation, hence, NBC may be in talks with Google and TikTok about implementing more robust content moderation and reporting mechanisms to ensure that content shared on their platform aligns with Nigerian laws and regulations.
Overall, the engagement between the NBC and these tech giants represents a significant step in addressing the complex issues surrounding social media regulation, which will foster cooperation, and ensure responsible and safe social media usage in Nigeria.