Following the recent $220 million fine imposed on the META by the Nigerian government through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Paradigm Initiative (PIN) is seeking clarification and transparency on the deals between the Nigerian government and META.
PIN during an interaction with journalists in Abuja and a subsequent press release, observed that Nigerian government and platforms like META collaborate in ways that lack transparency to the Nigerian public.
The Initiative recalled that when the Nigerian government lifted Twitter’s (Now ‘X’) suspension, it claimed that it had signed an agreement with the platform but the details of this agreement remain unknown to the Nigerian people.
They further noted that they received complaints from diasporan Nigerians during the recent #EndBadGovernance protest that META was allegedly suppressing content relating to the protest, making it difficult for them to follow up and get updates on the protest.
“We know that there’s a clandestine collaboration between platforms and the government, including law enforcement around content take-downs, moderations, including provision of users data to security agencies under certain circumstances that aren’t exactly clear to the Nigerian people.
“Additionally, we believe that platforms such as META and others are susceptible to being used for many vices that harm users. We believe that more can be done by these platforms to prevent these harms and vices”, PIN said in the statement.
While making its recommendations, PIN said that its priority is to make demands that the rights of Nigerians must be the prevailing priorities for all platform governance initiatives by both the platforms and the Nigerian government.
“Nigerians should not undermine the regulatory duty of respective agencies but continue to demand for clarity, transparency, and accountability.
“We unequivocally insist that platforms must be accountable not just to the Nigerian government but also to the Nigerian people.
“The FCCPC and others seeking to assert regulatory authority over platforms must be transparent and justify the proportionality of proposed punishment or fines.
“Effective platform governance requires robust capacity. Regulators must develop the necessary skills and resources to hold platforms accountable, moving beyond a sole focus on fines. Platform accountability should not be reduced to revenue-generating activities. While fines are legitimate, they must be proportionate and must reflect a genuine desire to ensure that the right is done”, PIN said.
While noting that dialogue was always the better alternative course of action PIN commended META’s decision to appeal the decision to make its case.
They however said that the alleged threat by META to exit the Nigerian market was disrespectful to META’s Nigerian users.
PIN charged META to demonstrate transparency in its interactions with the Nigerian government and law enforcement agencies.
“META and other platforms should publish periodic transparency reports detailing how it collaborates with the Nigerian government. The entire Nigerian platform governance regulatory landscape must be clearly defined and the roles of respective government agencies clearly articulated”, the statement added.
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