The Proposed Social Media Bill:Pros&Cons By M. O Zubair

For purposes of clarity, it’s important to state that there are actually two bills out there in the Nigerian Senate, agitating the minds of social media users in Nigeria at the moment.

There is the ‘Hate Speech Bill’ and the ‘Social Media Bill’. Both bills are not one and the same, even though they have been conflated in discourses on the internet.

The hate speech bill, otherwise called the ‘Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill’ is being championed by Sen. Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Deputy Chief Whip), while the social media bill, otherwise called the ‘Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill’ is the brainchild of Sen. Mohammed Sani Musa.

This Article dwells on the bill sponsored by Musa (APC, Niger East) and no more.

The social media bill passed the second reading on the floor of the senate on Wednesday, November 20, 2019; which means it’s well on its way to becoming law, seeing as it is only one more reading and assent by the executive, away.

What will this bill achieve if it becomes law?

Musa says his bill will not gag social media users should it become law as is being propagated. He also says his piece of legislation only seeks to check the spread of fake news and falsehood.

He equally cites the ‘Jubril from Sudan’ saga and tale as one reason why he’s doing this.

According to Musa: “One of the disadvantages of the internet is the spread of falsehood and manipulation of unsuspecting users.

“Today, motivated by geopolitical interest and identity politics, state and non- state actors use the internet to discredit government, misinform people and turn one group against the other.

Repressive governments and partisan peddlers of disinformation in Nigeria are leveraging the power of social media platforms to spy on and control their own people, influence and shape the outcome of elections, block dissenting voices and steadily erode internet freedom and privacy.

The hoax about the demise of President Muhammadu Buhari in London and his purported replacement by one Jubril of Sudan, among others, are things that threaten the peace, security and harmony of our people.” Musa also lamented that troll or bot accounts have been used to rapidly spread falsehood across Nigeria in a manner that now threatens national security.

If the bill becomes an Act, anyone found guilty will pay a fine of N300,000 and corporate bodies who willfully promote and dispense fake news or falsehood deemed to threaten national security, will pay a fine of N10 million.

“Penalty for defaulters goes up to N300,000 for individuals and up to N10 million for corporate organisations and imprisonment of up to three years or both.

“It also issues guidelines for internet intermediaries and providers of mass media services and sanctions for offenders,” the lawmaker says. The bill has 36 clauses which we shall carefully explore when the legislation becomes public and is readily available.Senators Ibrahim Gobir, Abba Moro and Elisha Abbo vehemently supported the bill during plenary this week.

Wait a Minute, does Senator Elisha abbo intend to revenge against those who uploaded His Video of Him Assaulting A Grown up Woman in a Shopping Mall?

I would like to draw our attention to the overriding effect of Section 39 of chapter IV of  Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(AA) which provides for Freedom of Expression, for  reference purpose, it provides as follows:,

Section 39. (1) Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to

receive and impart ideas and information without interference. 

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, every person shall be entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and

opinions:

Nigeria’s constitution, like international and African human rights law, protects the right to freedom of expression and provides that any restriction to this right must be justifiable in a democratic society. Nigerian lawmakers need to ensure the rights of everyone to peaceful criticism of the government without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanctions.

However, it must be kept in mind that freedom of expression does not give ‘complete’ freedom to anybody. This does not ensure that they can write or say anything they wish to. The context or the intent behind any news or information being circulated through social media/networking channels must be regulated and evaluated. The authenticity must be verified as it can have a vast impact on the population which receives such information. While the law in this particular field is still at nascent stage, it is evolving with time.

But, do we Really need this Proposed SOCIAL MEDIA BILL before issues like this can be taken care of? We already have more than enough Laws/agencies to handle such problems, for example, A bill to regulate social media was first considered in 2015 but failed to pass into law after similar public outcry. In the same year, however, the Cybercrimes law was enacted, criminalizing a broad range of online interactions. Authorities have charged activist Omoleye Sowore and at least five bloggers under this law. Several other recent arrests and detentions of journalists and activists, raids, and shutdowns of media outlets suggest a disturbing trend toward repression of freedom of expression in Nigeria.

Social media in India for example is regulated by the Information Technology Act, enacted in 2000. This was put in place in order to regulate the problems that stemmed out of usage of Information Technology. Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India, 1950 guarantees “Right to freedom of speech and expression”. This is a fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens of India.

Recently, the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 which led to arrests of many people for posting allegedly objectionable content on the Internet. The Court also rejected the Centre’s plea that it was committed to free speech and would ensure the provision was administered in a reasonable manner.

While the need of the hour might be to have effective and robust mechanism to govern the content over social media and networking sites, the Government must not forget that they cannot curb the constitutional and fundamental rights and prevent people from expressing their views over the issues concerning the country, including expressing their appreciation or displeasure on the functioning of the Government. The content writer and forwarder must act as a responsible citizen and ensure that such transmission of content does not lead to loss of life, reputation or dignity of any citizen. The Government must not forget that Rights Such as Fundamental rights are Sui Generis and protected Under the 1999 constitution Of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, were enacted to safeguard the citizens. That in no way should act as a deterrent or a tool in the hands of the Government to keep the citizens from exercising their constitutional rights.

Advocate Sumit Batra says, “Though no law can ever completely insulate the users of social media and networking from the issues or problems cropping out of technological advances, some basic guiding principles can take care of a lot many issues. While it is permissible to create, transmit and circulate news or information in social media, the big question that often arises has to do with a personal sense of discretion — something might be offensive for me but not offensive for others.

To me, I do not only oppose this bill, as it is to take away the voice of the voiceless.

I so submit with the wordings of Nnamani’s comments on same when asked about the Same Proposed bill.

“I condemn it in its entirety. Based on our constitution, there is freedom of information and freedom of speech”

There is a Cyber Crime Act that deals with this issue. There are also laws that deal with false information, libel, slander and so on.

This bill is redundant and will only further stifle free speech, in a country that seems set up to war with its young people.

Law Student at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria, e-mail :iamhorlarsco@gmail.com, Tel. 08169287393