We Don’t Regulate Social Media– NCC Replies Civil Society Council On Policing Twitter, Others

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it is not within its mandate to overhaul contents on social media platforms.

The telecom regulator made the clarification while responding to a demand from the National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN).

The NCSCN, led by its Executive Secretary, Blessing Akinsolotu, sought the intervention of the Commission to police social media against misleading contents during a visit in Abuja.

NCC said in a statement on Monday that the group described contents on social media as ‘worrisome and misleading.’

“We know that NCC, as the regulator of the telecoms industry, has greater role to play in helping to curb the spread of fake news and incendiary contents that Internet users put on social media platforms. Therefore, we want NCC to partner with us in this regard,” the NCSCN boss said.

According to Akinsolotu, the situation demands immediate intervention of key stakeholders to ensure that the content of the social media and the Internet are credible and enhance national social cohesion.

But the Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, Reuben Muoka, who spoke for the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, informed the NCSCN that the Commission’s mandate does not extend to controlling the content of social media platforms.

Muoka said, “the major role of the telecom regulator is to facilitate the deployment of telecom infrastructure that provides different types of telecommunications services, including improving broadband that enhances robust Internet experience, and ensuring fair competition as well as the protecting of telecom consumers.

“The mandate includes making services available, accessible and affordable for Nigerians who may leverage such access to engage in digital social mediation for the benefit of the individual, businesses, and the nation’s socioeconomic growth.

“In the performance of its functions, the Commission promotes collaboration and partnerships with different stakeholders such as NCSCN, in creating awareness and promoting access to different categories of consumers in the country. He said the Commission looks forward to furthering collaboration with NCSCN in its efforts to align with the aspirations of users of telecommunications services across the country. “

In recent years, the Federal Government has made several efforts to regulate social media.

In June 2021, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension of Twitter for deleting a post by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The ban lasted for seven months.

The government had accused Twitter of playing a role in the October 2020 #EndSars protest and ignoring inciting comments of Nnamdi Kanu, the head of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Last year, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Issues a Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries and Conditions for Operating in Nigeria.

The Code was done in collaboration with the NCC.

The NITDA Act 2007 empowers it to draft for IT practice in the country.