Nigeria orders Facebook, Twitter, others to provide information on "harmful accounts"

Social media platforms like Twitter Facebook and Tiktok will be required to register and open offices in Nigeria and appoint contact persons with the government.

This regulation forms part of the new draft regulations from the National information technology development agency published on Monday, June 13.

This comes six months after Nigeria lifted a ban on the usage of Twitter in the country.

In a published statement on their website, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says the new code of practice for "interactive computer service platforms/internet intermediaries" is meant to curb online abuse, including disinformation and misinformation.

The regulations were developed in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) as well as input from the online platforms, Reuters reports saucing a statement by the (NITDA) on June 13.

According to the code, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, and others must “provide information to authorities on harmful accounts, suspected botnets, troll groups, and other coordinated disinformation networks and deleting any information that violates Nigerian law within an agreed time.”

While the conditions are yet to be fully implemented, the government said social media platforms must comply with the “new code” for continued operation in Nigeria.

The platforms are popular in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with more than 200 million people.