Senate insists on regulating social media

Despite public criticism, the Senate on Wednesday vowed to continue with the process for the passage of a bill seeking to regulate the use of social media in Nigeria.

The Senate had passed into Second Reading a bill seeking two years imprisonment with an option of N2 million fine or both for any Nigerian who posts “abusive statements” on the social media.

Senator Dino Melaye, coming through a point of order during plenary, ‎expressed dissatisfaction with the abuse of the social media by some online publishers whom he said have sold their “conscience”.

Melaye, who specifically mentioned prominent online platform, Sahara Reporters, said others in the online news business are in the habit of fair reportage.

He said Sahara Reporters is known for outright falsehood.

He added that Sahara Reporters operates from New York in the United States of America and the Nigerian Governmentt should write the US Government on the platform’s penchant for misinformation.

Melaye said Sahara Reporters is a threat to democracy.

Contributing to the point of order, Senator Abiodun Olujimi said the amount of falsehood flying everywhere is staggering and a scapegoat has to be made as deterrent for others.

Olujimi revealed that she had to exit all social media platforms because of the continued lies and falsehood peddled around.

In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, said the online media remains a major addition to the democratic discourse, but it should not be abused.

Saraki said they should be fair and accurate in their approach to stories and that people must be held responsible for their actions.

He referred the matter to the Senate Committees on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions; ICT and Cybercrime; and Judiciary and Human Rights.

The bill, which was sponsored by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, is seeking to provide punishment for frivolous petitions‎ by making sure that only credible and verifiable petitions are presented for public use.

According to the bill, any person who through text messages, tweets, WhatsApp any other social media posts any abusive statement knowing same to be false with intent to set the public against any person and/or group of persons, an institution of government or such other bodies established by law shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment for two years or a fine of N2 million or both such fine and imprisonment.

imprisonment.

Section 3 of the seeming draconian Bill also reads: “Where any person in order to circumvent this law makes any allegation and or publish any statement, petition in any paper, radio, or any medium of whatever description, with malicious intent to discredit or set the public against any person or group of persons, institutions of Government, he shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to an imprisonment term of two years or a fine of N4 million.”