Senate braces for backlash as social media bill scales second reading

Nigeria may mandate Facebook X, others to have office in country

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has expressed apprehension over possible backlash from another controversial Social Media Bill that scaled second reading at the red chamber, yesterday.
 
This is as Nigeria considers mandating social media giants to have physical offices in the country if they want to continue their operations. This was revealed yesterday at the Senate, where a bill suggesting changes to the Data Protection Act 2023, which would mandate social media platforms such as Facebook, X and others to set up physical offices in Nigeria, successfully completed its second reading.
 
Akpabio, in his closing remark, insisted that the bill was not designed to suppress free speech but create a structured digital economy.  The bill, entitled ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to Mandate the Establishment of Physical Offices within the Territorial Boundaries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media Platforms, and for Related Matters (SB. 648)’, was read for the first time on November 21, 2024.
 
Sponsored by Ned Nwoko (Delta North), the proposed amendment to the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, aims to address what he described as a “glaring omission” in how multinational tech companies engage with Nigeria.

Sponsored by Mohammed Musa (Niger East), the bill also passed second reading. However, after its details were made public, accusations emerged on social media that the bill was plagiarised from a similar law in Singapore, a country with a low ranking in the global press and speech freedom. Though Musa denied the plagiarism allegations, the bill could not see the light of day.
 
However, Akpabio while preparing the ground for a better outing for the bill, explained, “The nature of business today is different. People can conduct their businesses from anywhere, whether in their bedrooms, cars or even on a plane. Given this, I believe the best course of action is for the bill to proceed to a second reading. After that, during the public hearing, various stakeholders can be invited for their input.
 
“I am confident that by the time the bill returns to us for possible passage into law, it will have been refined and better structured. The goal at this stage is to present general principles, not necessarily to go into specific details. Those details will be addressed during the public hearing, where everything will be made clearer.”
 
He emphasised that the Senate was not attempting to regulate or suppress social media, but to ensure tax compliance and proper business registration.   Critics argue that the bill, once passed, could serve as a tool for government control over online discourse, particularly targeting journalists, bloggers and social media influencers. 
 
Many fear that vague regulatory provisions might be weaponised to silence dissenting voices, leading to an erosion of free speech in the digital space.
DURING the deliberations on the floor of the red chamber, Akpabio stressed that under the new tax regime, firms not making up to N50 million a year would be exempted from tax. “Also, if you are an individual trader not making up to N1 million, you don’t have to pay tax. The bill is a good one.”
 
Appreciating Nwoko for sponsoring the bill, he noted that after the bill had gone for a public hearing and eventually returned to the Senate, “we will be able to dot the ‘i’(s) and cross the ‘t’(s).”