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Reps warn Federal Government against clamping down on social media
By Emmanuel Awosika
The House of Representatives Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, has warned the Federal government against clamping down on free speech as it pushes for a social media bill.
Recall that the Federal government had raised alarm over the destructiveness of fake news, calling for tighter regulation of the social media space.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had told the committee that the next wars to be fought in the country and the world may be on social media.
He said: “The biggest challenge facing Nigeria today is fake news and misinformation. Based on that, we dedicated an entire National Council on Information’s meeting to that issue, after which we launched a national campaign against fake news in July 2018.
“The recent # EndSARS war was fought on social media. They mobilised using the social media. The war today revolves around two things. Smartphone and data and these young men don’ t even watch television or listen to radio or read newspapers.”
Reacting to the Minister’s statement, Emmanuel Oghene, a member of the committee, warned the FG against trying to regulate social media, saying such measures would be counter-productive.
Chairman of the Committee, Olusegun Odebunmi, asked the Federal government to create a technology that can regulate social media whilst allowing the country’s cyberspace to function.
