In a bid to ensure that sanity is maintained in Nigeria’s internet circuit, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in June 2022 unveiled a Code of Practice for Online Platforms to checkmate the eruption of crisis in the nation’s ICT sector. The code was developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), with input from Interactive Computer Service Platforms (also known as Tech Giants) such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, Tik Tok, amongst others.

Before critics could fault NITDA’s code, social media giants in Europe agreed to take a tougher line against disinformation including deep fakes and fake accounts, under an updated EU code of practice. Section 6 of the NITDA Act 2007 authorizes the agency to standardize, coordinate and develop regulatory frameworks for all Information Technology (IT) practices.

It was therefore not surprising that President Muhammadu Buhari directed NITDA to develop a Code of Practice. Indeed, the regulatory body played a major role in ensuring that Twitter accepted the conditions laid out by Nigeria to check fake news and hate speech after the EndSARS violent protests.