The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill for second reading that seeks to mandate multinational social media companies to establish physical offices in Nigeria.
Sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North), the bill aims to enhance digital sovereignty, create jobs, and strengthen regulatory oversight over platforms like Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, which operate in Nigeria without local offices.
Nwoko argued that Nigeria, despite being Africa’s largest social media market, misses out on economic opportunities, legal protections, and direct engagement with these platforms due to their absence. The bill also proposes that bloggers in Nigeria must have verifiable offices and belong to a national association based in Abuja.
The Senate unanimously supported the bill, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio clarifying that the intent is to generate revenue and improve regulation, not suppress free speech.
The bill has now been referred to the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security for further review.
