NBC: We’re engaging Google, TikTok to regulate use of social media

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) says it is engaging Google, YouTube and TikTok to regulate the use of social media in the country.

Francisca Aiyetan, director of broadcast monitoring of the NBC, spoke to Daily Trust on Friday concerning the plans of the commission to curb the excesses of users on digital platforms.

Aiyetan said social media, if not regulated, can be misleading to young Nigerians.

She said the commission is engaging the owners of Google, YouTube and TikTok to “take down” whatever it sees as “threatening and injurious to our people”.

“Every country is making efforts to regulate social media, and Nigeria also is making efforts because we know that there are a lot of things to harness from it,” she said.

“But if not regulated, it can also be a platform that will misguide our young people. The level we are now discussing with stakeholders to agree that, yes, we need to regulate social media and at that level, there should be legislation.

“There should be strengthening of the law to factor in all the things that are new in the broadcasting and content sharing space.

“And then, when you have the power and the enablement by law to do such things, then we can now look at, do we have the way to do it technology-wise?

“Nevertheless, presently what we do is that we engage the platform owners as a regulator, we engage Google, YouTube, and TikTok, so we know the faces behind these platforms.

“What we do is that, we escalate whatever we think is threatening, is injurious to our people, we escalate to them that we don’t think it is right, take it down, and so far so good we have been working well. Other countries are doing the same, other countries are doing more.”

Balarabe Ilelah, NBC director-general, previously described the ills of social media as a “monster”.

On Tuesday, the commission said a bill for the regulation of social media has been sent to the national assembly.