Snapchat, Twitter, and other social media sites may be sanctioned by the Federal Government over the display of porn and nudity on the Nigerian cyberspace. This is as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) released the Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries (online platforms).
Part of the order included in the code is that -Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, and other social media must ensure the removal, disabling, or blocking of access to any non-consensual content, which displays partial or full nudity, sexual acts, deep fake, or revenge porn within 24 hours.
The code mandated the social media platforms to “act expeditiously to remove, disable, or block access to non-consensual content that exposes a person’s private areas, full or partial nudity, sexual act, or revenge porn, where such content is targeted to harass, disrepute, or intimidate an individual. A Platform must acknowledge the receipt of the complaint and take down the content within 24 hours.”
Other things require of Snapchat, Twitter, and other social media platforms
- The Code of Practice also directs these platforms to take down any unlawful content upon receiving a notice from a user, or an authorised government agency.
- The platforms were also asked to exercise due diligence to ensure that no unlawful content is uploaded to their platform.
- Aside from asking each online platform to have a country representative, who will interface with the Nigerian authorities, it also requires any platform with over 100,000 Nigerian users to have an office in Nigeria.
- Other conditions include registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission as a legal entity, complying with tax obligations, abiding by regulatory and legal demands, and providing information about users on-demand, among others.
BizWatch Nigeria, however, understands that the Code of Practice recently published by the NITDA was designed to safeguard the fundamental human rights of Nigerians and non-Nigerians living in Nigeria, and to regulate interactions on the online platform.
