The Social Media Bill suffered a setback in the Senate.
Some stakeholders, mainly civil society and non-governmental organisations, NGOs; the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ and Amnesty International, AI at a public hearing, rejected the Bill and asked the Senate to drop it in the interest of freedom of information.
The proposed bill sponsored by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa is titled: “A Bill for an Act to make provisions for the protection from internet falsehood and manipulations and for related matters, 2019.
According to Musa, the law, among others, seeks to prevent the transmission of false statements in Nigeria.
It also recommends that any one guilty should be liable to a fine of 300 thousand naira or three years imprisonment, or both for individuals; a fine not exceeding 10 million naira for corporate organisations and same punishment for fake online accounts that transmit false statements.
The President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan described the public hearing as vital because the bill has generated a lot of passion. He also noted that the desire was not unexpected because the proposed law relates to the Internet and others.
