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.
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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”.
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“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.”
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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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