₦airaland Forum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khtxxgaup0I

A bill that seeks to amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to require social media platforms to establish physical offices within the country has scaled second reading in the Senate.

The bill, titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to Mandate the Establishment of Physical Offices within the Territorial Boundaries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media Platforms, and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB. 650),” was sponsored by Senator Ned Munir Nwoko APC, Delta North.

The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio then referred it to the Senate Committee on ICT and cyber security to report back in 2 months.

In his lead debate on the general principles of the bill, Senator Nwoko explained that Nigeria as Africa’s most populous nation with over 220 million people has a significant digital presence, ranking first in Africa and second globally in terms of social media usage, spending an average of three hours and 46 minutes daily online, according to a Global Web Index report cited by Business Insider Africa.

He highlighted that despite the high engagement, multinational social media corporations such as Facebook, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat do not maintain physical offices in Nigeria, unlike in other climes.

Senator Nwoko outlined several challenges resulting from the absence of social media offices in Nigeria, including: Limited local representation; Economic losses as well as Challenges in Legal and Data Protection Compliance.

The bill also proposes new regulations for bloggers operating in Nigeria. It mandates that all bloggers must establish a verifiable office in any of the capital cities across the country, maintain proper employee records and belong to a recognized national association of bloggers, headquartered in Abuja.

According to Senator Nwoko, this measure is intended to promote accountability, transparency, and professionalism in Nigeria’s digital media space, similar to traditional media houses, just as he asserts that the bill is not an attack on social media platforms but a demand for equity and respect for Nigeria’s position as a global leader in digital engagement.

Wahala Pro Max, the next is to register with CAC ..... 1st to comment anyways, just days after my 10th year anniversary here

Oh, so now they want social media platforms to have physical offices in Nigeria? Is that really the battle we should be fighting, Senator Nwoko? While we, the youth, are starving for jobs, opportunities, and meaningful reforms, they’re busy chasing shadows, chasing after foreign companies who don’t care about our poverty or broken systems.

Where are the policies that tackle unemployment?

Where is the bill that addresses the abysmally low minimum wage?


You want accountability, Senator? How about accountability from our government for the billions being wasted on ‘phantom’ projects and the resources we continue to mismanage while our youth are struggling? You talk about economic losses, but the real loss here is the brain drain—our best minds fleeing to places that at least offer decent opportunities while we remain stuck in endless bureaucratic bottlenecks.




You want blogs to have offices in Abuja ? More paperwork, more bureaucracy, more of the same system that has crushed creativity and entrepreneurship. You’ve seen the power of social media in giving Nigerians, especially the youth, a platform to speak, to earn, to create. Instead of using this bill to stifle free expression, why not focus on making this country a place where the youth can thrive without being oppressed by these never-ending laws that only serve to make the already powerful even more untouchable?



Enough of the distractions! The real battle is for a better Nigeria, not one where social media offices are the priority.

Good.
Bloggers will be more responsible with what they put out there.

Lol

Yea right so that they can tax them to their deaths.

Hmmmm..

Finally they gagged the Internet

Thank God it will not affect Nairaland .

Tinubu government is worst than Buhari.

Make i no lie.

Do they know the meaning of the word blog.

Blog no be tv or newspaper.

It is digital and asking them to have physical office then you can arrest them at will.


Those supporting Tinubu govt will one day discover that they are victims are not friends of oppressors.

Hmm.

Jokest Joke

It's necessary...

You can't hide behind key pad ..cook cock and bull stories for likes and shares .. falsehood you deliberately cooked to sell stories..na..

There should be an avenue to take responsibilities

Bunch of visionless legislators.

What do they think blogging is?

So one now has to have an office, be registered with CAC, before using their phone to make a post or video of their opinion...

Jaundiced legislators.
How did it come to the assembly for first reading?
So they do not have legislative aid that can do some assessment before letting them come out to publish their folly.

Terrible APC military govt!

Imagine you're Gistlover's landlord

Gistlover right now

Dem want bloggers to have physical address so that they can always have them arrested or shutdown when ever they post their leaks and secrets, EG akpabs and his sugar babies

Very anyhow legislature, meanwhile no bill to protect farmers from Fulani herdsman

We will still blog with vpn....

Govt want to hold them responsible for any nonsense post

Are these people serious?
So they want a UK or US - based blogger (for instance), to open physical offices in Nigeria so that they could harass them when they expose their corrupt and nefarious activities. Shame!
It wont happen. The internet is a ''virtual'' space.

fergie001:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khtxxgaup0I

Hmmmm!

Rubbish

Bunch of time wasters

All in a bid to locate them easily for gagging and shutting their voices

Useless and Jobless Legislooters

Lol na way to go dey pack people anyhow this people dey find...

dd

Unfortunately you cannot police the internet, though I agree with the bill but we all know it's for a wrong motive. Na so Sahara disturb them but Nigerians know how to go around the loophole.

Do not forget that El Rufai had said that Tinubu and his team are good with the media. APC knows the power of the media and how it got them to power. Immediately after they won the election in 2015, we saw the changes that they did to their media stations and outlets. NBC changed some regulations to how the terrorist attacks were reported and the new word was bandits. Radio Continental in Lagos was disbanded and became Max FM. Radio Continental that used to discuss politics, now became entertainment station. Newspaper headlines for radio stations changed. Their other stations on TV, they only allowed their lackeys control the narrative. One thing APC did not anticipate was that they don't own the media space. They could have controlled traditional media for their propaganda but the young ones do not rely on that anymore.

I agree with control of blogging but I know the media has always been a problem for dictators because they like to look good on the media. You can hear it from the Senate President himself when he talks about the media. They don't like being called out, they don't like what they can't control that makes them look bad, even if it's true. This is level 1 sign to dictatorship. We can't forget the story of Cross River Watch, Dadiyata and so many more. Even Dan Bello has received threats.

Jokers...terríble lawmakers

Very good, if we don't regulate bloggers they will ignite Nigeria on fire, even bloggers must be responsible and accountable for their actions.

Wahala.... Who dey bring all dis yeye yeye bills na... Why not bills supporting death sentence or life imprisonment for stealing public funds?