The Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, has joined voices with advocates of the controversial ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill 2019’, positing that the social media can’t be left to operate without control.
He made his position known while speaking at the Kawararafa Media Award in Abuja on Sunday night.
His words, “The entire Kasuwan Magani saga that resulted in the death of more than 50 people was because someone posted misleading information on WhatsApp that went viral.
“All countries in the world are trying to make laws to check the excesses. Many countries are trying to control the situation. The Europeans have placed a new law that holds the companies responsible.
“In United Kingdom, the parliament has received a report on social media. There is youth addiction to it, just like cigarettes. Without any form of control, it has done harm to women, ethnic minorities, individuals, institutions and countries,’’ the statement by the Deputy Director, Information, Mr Atta Essa, quoted Shehu as saying.
He said that to demonstrate that the government was not against free speech, the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, had repeatedly called for a meeting of stakeholders to agree on modalities for regulating the social media.
