NITDA begins session on on-line safety invoice

The Nationwide Info Expertise Improvement Company has referred to as on stakeholders to offer enter on the proposed On-line Harms Safety Invoice, which seeks to deal with the rising challenges of on-line security in Nigeria.

In collaboration with Advocacy for Coverage and Innovation, a non-profit organisation targeted on advancing digital innovation and coverage growth throughout Africa, NITDA launched a whitepaper outlining the framework for the invoice.

The framework builds upon discussions from Nigeria’s inaugural Content material Moderation and On-line Security Summit, held in July 2022, which underscored the necessity for efficient regulatory motion to guard Nigerians within the digital area.

In a press release issued on Thursday and signed by the NITDA’s Director of Company Communications and Media Relations, Hadiza Umar, the company emphasised the significance of the whitepaper in stimulating public discussions about on-line security.

“By releasing this whitepaper, we intention to foster a nationwide dialog that can assist form the event of a complete authorized framework that balances citizen safety with a thriving digital ecosystem,” NITDA mentioned.

The doc offers an outline of the prevalence of on-line harms and suggests regulatory measures to make sure security and safety for customers navigating digital and interactive content material.

It additionally analyses world efforts and proposes finest practices that could possibly be tailored to Nigeria’s context.

Nonetheless, NITDA clarified that the framework will not be meant to be a definitive information however quite a place to begin for broader nationwide dialogue and stakeholder engagement.

The regulator mentioned the whitepaper will function a basis for additional consultations, together with contributions from civil society, native and worldwide web platforms, safety regulators, companies, and most of the people.

NITDA inspired all stakeholders to learn the doc and supply suggestions to refine the framework earlier than the drafting of the ultimate invoice.

As a part of the continued course of, the company said it might collate responses and current them to related stakeholder teams for additional dialogue.

NITDA added that when developed, the invoice is predicted to supply a sturdy answer to fight on-line hurt whereas selling the accountable progress of Nigeria’s digital financial system.