Ned Nwoko, senator representing Delta north, has renewed his call for the passage of the social media regulation bill, saying defamation has been weaponised in Nigeria’s online space.
The proposed legislation sponsored by Nwoko passed for
second reading on March 18 in the
senate.
Nwoko said a trending video circulated a few days ago showed
how unregulated the country’s social media ecosystem has become.
The lawmaker was reacting to a trending video wherein a TikTok content creator known as
‘liaroftiktok’ alleged that Nwoko paid him to kill Regina Daniels, his
estranged wife.
The creator later posted another video retracting the claim,
saying he was only “creating content” and that the allegation was false.
Nwoko said laying “very serious allegations” for views has
become a common tactic, with little concern for the harm caused to the people
involved.
According to him, the ease with which creators evade
consequences encourages “deviant behaviour”.
“This case and many others has now clearly justified the
urgent need for the social media bill in the national assembly,” he said.
“You can’t lie to make money and turn around to apologize
after criminally defaming and hurting people. It is time for social media
companies to be mandated to open offices in Nigeria and to take responsibility
for what they allow on their platforms.
“If landlords are being threatened with punishments for
actions of their tenants who are yahoo boys, what stops social media companies
from being held responsible for allowing defamatory contents in their
platforms.
“All our local media houses comply with laws concerning
defamation. Why make an exception for foreign companies who don’t pay taxes and
ultimately avoid all manner of liabilities because of the absence of
regulations.”
He urged Nigerians to support his bill, saying it only seeks
to ensure that social media platforms register and operate physically in the
country.
The lawmaker said the proposed legislation would create
jobs, support technology transfer, aid tax collection and make litigation
against tech companies cheaper and more accessible.
He added that the measure would also support efforts to
track criminal activities and ensure that Nigerians’ data is stored within the
country rather than controlled by foreign governments.
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Regulating of social media is not an option now, if you been accused of what you did not do, you have every right to debunk it. You elites wants to be ridding on the poor masses, knowing fully well that social media is the only means to expose your crimes. No to social media regulation
ReplyDeletethe masses, everyone also should bridle their tongue...stop laying false accusations on people..there needs to be a regulation of social media
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