NCC May Outlaw Internet Content Injurious to Minors

• NCC May Outlaw Internet Content Injurious to Minors

There were indications on Friday that the Nigerian Communications Commission may outlaw Internet content that is injurious to children and minors.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, gave the indication in Abuja while speaking at a stakeholders’ consultative forum on the establishment of Internet Industry Code.

Danbatta, who was represented by the Director, Legal Regulatory Services at the NCC, Mrs Yetunde Akinloye, said it was important for the regulatory agency and stakeholders to collaborate in order to give the country a befitting Internet code of practice.

He said that the establishment of the Internet Industry Code of Practice was aimed at securing the country’s cyberspace against imminent cyber-attacks occasioned by the liberalisation of the industry and the high rate of evolution in mobile telecommunications.

According to him, the developments have led to an increase in the use of and dependence on the solutions and services that ride on the Internet.

He added that the code would also put measures in place to safeguard and protect minors, vulnerable audiences and consumers as a whole.

Danbatta said, “This is envisioned as a co-regulatory effort between the commission and industry stakeholders, hence the need for extensive public consultation for the final document.”

He said that the establishment of the code was conceived to ensure safety and security on the Internet and to harness the benefits of the Internet for good governance and better user experience.

Speaking at the event, President, Nigerian Internet Group, Mr Destiny Amana, noted that Internet fraud was one of the major problems plaguing the nation.

He advocated for measures to be adopted for the protection of both the young and the old within the online environment.

“There is a need for check and balances, which the commission is trying to put in place,” he said.

Programme Manager, Digital Earth Paradigm Initiative, Mr Adeboye Adegoke, called on the commission to emphasise the importance of judicial oversight.

He said, “The importance of judicial oversight is that it creates a system of checks and balances.”

Adegoke also called for the outright outlawing of pornography from the Internet both from service and content providers perspectives, contending that pornography was injurious to both minors and adults.