Amnesty International has criticised the move by the Federal Government over its o regulate the use of social media in Nigeria.
The human rights non-governmental organisation reacted on Twitter in particular to the appeal made by Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to the House of Representatives to include regulation of Twitter in its bid to amend the National Broadcasting Commission Act.
The organisation said:
“When social media is regulated, authorities can arbitrarily have powers to shut down the internet and limit access to social media.
“Criticizing the government will be made punishable with penalties of up to three years in prison.
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“Regulating social media in Nigeria could be easily abused to punish critics of government policies and actions, and anyone who asks difficult questions could find themselves liable for ‘diminishing public confidence in the government.’
“Seeking a law to prohibit abusive, threatening and insulting behaviour is open to very wide interpretation. This section would pose a threat to critical opinion, satire, public dialogue and political commentary.”
