A bill to mandate establishment of physical offices within the territorial boundaries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media platforms has scaled second reading in the Senate.
This was sequel to the presentation of the lead debate by the sponsor of the bill, Sen. Ned Nwoko (APC-Delta) at plenary on Tuesday.
The bill is titled: “A Bill for an Act to amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to mandate establishment of physical offices within the territorial boundaries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media platforms and for related matters.”
Senator Nwoko said the bill was read for the first time on Thursday, 21 November 2024 and seeks to correct a glaring omission in how multinational social media companies engaged with our country.
“Our dear nation, Nigeria, is not just the most populous country in Africa; we are also one of the most active when it comes to digital engagement.
“With over 220 million people, social media has become an essential part of our daily lives.
“According to the Global Web Index, as reported by Business Insider Africa, Nigerians rank first in Africa and second globally in terms of daily social media usage, spending an average of three hours and 46 minutes online."
The lawmaker said the absence of physical offices for these social media giants in Nigeria presented major challenges, including limited local representation.
Another challenge, Nwoko said, is missed economic opportunities, explaining that the absence of physical offices had deprived Nigeria of numerous opportunities.
He added that the bill also mandated that all bloggers operating in Nigeria must establish a verifiable office in any of the capital cities across the country.
