Not Our Duty To Regulate Social Media Content — NCC

The telecom regulator made the clarification, while responding to a demand from the National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN).

Executive Secretary, NCSCN, Blessing Akinsolotu, had sought the intervention of the Commission to police social media against misleading contents during a visit in Abuja.

The Commission said in a statement on Monday that the group described contents on social media as ‘worrisome and misleading.’

“We know that NCC, as the regulator of the telecoms industry, has greater role to play in helping to curb the spread of fake news and incendiary contents that Internet users put on social media platforms. Therefore, we want NCC to partner with us in this regard,” the NCSCN stated.

According to Akinsolotu, the situation demands immediate intervention of key stakeholders to ensure that the content of the social media and the internet are credible and enhance national social cohesion.

But Reuben Muoka, the Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, who spoke for the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Umar Danbatta, informed the NCSCN that the Commission’s mandate does not extend to controlling the content of social media platforms.

“The major role of the telecom regulator is to facilitate the deployment of telecom infrastructure that provides different types of telecommunications services, including improving broadband that enhances robust Internet experience, and ensuring fair competition as well as the protecting of telecom consumers,” Muoka said.