Sen. Ned Nwoko, who represents Delta North, has reiterated his demand that the social media control law be passed, claiming that defamation has become a weapon in Nigerian cyberspace.
On March 18, the Senate approved Nwoko’s proposed legislation for second reading.
According to Ned Nwoko, a popular video that went viral a few days ago demonstrated how uncontrolled the nation’s social media landscape has grown.
The congressman was responding to a popular video in which “liaroftiktok,” a TikTok content creator, claimed in a video that Nwoko had hired him to murder his estranged wife Regina Daniels.
The TikToker later posted another video retracting the claim, saying he was only “creating content” and that the allegation was false.
Ned Nwoko said laying “very serious allegations” for views has become a common tactic, with little concern for the harm caused to the people involved.
The senator stressed that “deviant behaviour” is encouraged by the ease with which producers avoid penalties.
“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.”
Additionally, he urged Nigerians to support his bill, saying it only seeks to ensure that social media platforms register and operate physically in the country.
According to the congressman, the proposed legislation would assist technology transfer, increase employment, facilitate tax collection, and lower the cost and increase accessibility of litigation against digital giants.
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