Online Harms Protection Bill: NITDA, API Releases White Paper On The Framework

"The White Paper provides context on the prevalence of online harms and the need for action, highlighting the government's effort through various agencies to propose solutions to protect citizens and children online." Hadiza Umar 

..... It also provides rich resources on relevant conceptual ideas critical to the debate on approaches for regulatory action to combat online harms. 

A White Paper on the Framework for an Online Harms Protection Bill in Nigeria, has been released by the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA.

A statement signed Hadiza Umar, Director, Corporate Communications and Media Relations of NITDA disclosed that, "This pivotal document was developed in collaboration with Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), an Africa-focused non-profit dedicated to advancing digital innovation and inclusive policy development. 

The statement, which was made available to journalists on Thursday, 12th December 2024, further disclosed that "the White Paper was developed as part of a collaborative initiative to tackle the escalating challenge of online harm in Nigeria. It builds on the discussions and key insights from Nigeria’s inaugural Content Moderation and Online Safety Summit, hosted by API in July 2022."

Mrs Umar, in the statement noted that "The White Paper provides context on the prevalence of online harms and the need for action, highlighting the government's effort through various agencies to propose solutions to protect citizens and children online. It also provides rich resources on relevant conceptual ideas critical to the debate on approaches for regulatory action to combat online harms. The paper further analyses efforts from other jurisdictions and proffers a range of ideas that can be considered for developing a framework in Nigeria. 

"The White Paper will serve as a foundation for stakeholder engagement and developing a comprehensive, collaborative framework for a bill to protect Nigerians as we navigate online and interactive content. The White Paper is not intended to be a final document to define the contours of online harm in Nigeria. Instead, it will be the basis for engagement with other relevant regulators, the security sector, civil society organisations, local and international internet platforms, businesses and the wider public. Therefore, the White Paper does not present the sole opinions of NITDA but rather aggregated ideas based on research to guide regulatory options for meaningful engagement around online harms. 

"By releasing this White Paper, NITDA and API aim to spark a national conversation on online harms and contribute to the development of a comprehensive legal framework that protects Nigerian citizens while fostering a vibrant digital ecosystem.

The Director, Corporate Communications and Media Relations of NITDA, on behalf of the Agency, urged stakeholders to read this paper thoughtfully and respond with comments, questions and suggestions to theOHPwhitepaper.secretariat@apiintelligence.org with all tips and recommendations. 

"The Secretariat will collate these responses and present them to the stakeholder groups for subsequent engagement before developing a relevant Bill." She stated 

"The Agency thanks the steering team members, drawn mainly from Nigeria’s civil society, who participated in developing the White Paper, and the Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC) representatives for their efforts as steering team members. We also thank the project's secretariat for their dedication and hard work in compiling the research to produce the White Paper. We look forward to future engagements and conversations as we improve Nigeria’s digital economy and create a safe space for all to use the Internet as a shared resource." The statement concluded.

Please download or read the White Paper via this link: https://links.nitda.gov.ng/ohpb