Social media bill: A disturbing attempt to muzzle free speech ―  CDD

Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has said the Social Media Bill which has passed second reading in the Senate, is an attempt to use the legislative process to muzzle freedom of expression.

This was contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday by the CDD Director, Idayat Hassan which copy was made available to Nigerian Tribune in Lokoja.

The statement noted that the bill purports to tackle the increasing problem of false information in Nigeria, stressing that a number of draconian provisions in the bill empower the Nigerian government to unilaterally shut down social media and possibly the internet for posts they deem to pose risks for public safety and national security. This would pose a serious threat to Nigerians democracy and freedom of speech.

“CDD acknowledges the groundswell of public opposition to the bill, which stems from the intolerant political climate in which civil liberties have been repeatedly trampled upon by the government. The arrests, harassment and hounding of journalists, pro-democracy activists and voices of dissent are worrying signs that free speech, as a constitutional right of citizens, is under threat.

“Part three Clause 13, Subclause (2), is one of the most concerning aspects of the Social Media Bill. It states that “no appeal may be made to the High Court by any person unless the person has first applied to the Law Enforcement Department to vary or cancel the Part 3 Regulations and the Law Enforcement Department refused the application whether in whole or in part”.

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“Part three Clause 12, Subclause (3) also gives the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) absolute power “to direct the National Communication Commission (NCC) to order the internet access service provider to take reasonable steps to disable access to end-users in Nigeria based on their online location”. NCC, according to the bill, can give the internet access service provider(s) “an access blocking order”. This draconian provision gives the police power to disrupt the internet access of not only the persons they accuse of spreading false statements but the entire population living in that location. According to the Global State of Digital 2019 report, 98.39 million Nigerians use the internet; almost 50% of the population.

“Part five, Clause (35) of the bill, reveals a dangerous push by the government through the NPF to establish powers to determine and declare what news is ‘fake’ and what is true. With harsh punishments for those, it deems to sharing ‘fake’ news. Publishers, organisations and individuals will face jail terms of up to three years and/or fines of up to N10 million for alleged infractions, which will be decided on by the security agencies,” he noted.

According to the statement, CDD was deeply concerned that the legislation places an inordinate amount of power in the hands of the government and security agencies.

She noted that there are also technical issues, as a result of overlapping legislation in Nigeria. The Cybercrime Act of 2015, already has stipulations for the sharing of false information and the Nigerian Communications Commission Act of 2003 grants the NCC powers to oversee the function of telecommunications providers. The proposed bill raises far more questions than it provides answers.

She, therefore, urged the Senate to disregard the entire bill and look for alternative approaches to the problems of hate speech and the spread of false information on social media.

“Focusing on improving digital and civic literacy at all levels of society, will give citizens the skills and knowledge to decide for themselves what is true and what is false. Legislators time should be focused on establishing data protection and privacy legislation and enforcing existing regulations than restricting citizens access to, and use of, online platforms,’ she said.