A senate bill seeking to compel social media platforms, including Meta, Google and X, to establish physical offices in Nigeria has progressed after receiving broad support from stakeholders at a public hearing.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Ned Nwoko, senator representing Delta north, seeks to amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 to mandate social media platforms operating in the country to maintain physical offices in Nigeria.
The bill was considered on Thursday at a public hearing organised by the senate committee on ICT and cyber security.
Speaking at the hearing, Shuaib Salisu, chairman of the committee, said the social media bill was designed to strengthen the protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace, while the AI academy bill would provide a centre of excellence for artificial intelligence education and research.
Senate President Godwill Akpabio, represented by Lola Ashiru, deputy senate leader, described the bills as forward-looking legislative proposals “that reflects the senate’s commitment to improving governance through legislation.”
He said the bill requiring social media companies to establish physical offices in Nigeria was not intended to stifle innovation or discourage investment.
Nwoko echoed the position, saying the proposed law was aimed at encouraging technology companies to deepen their engagement with Nigeria.
“This bill is neither punitive nor hostile to innovation. It is not designed to frustrate investment or discourage technology companies from operating in Nigeria,” he said.
“On the contrary, it seeks to deepen their engagement with Nigeria by encouraging them to become true corporate citizens of our country.”
The lawmaker noted that global technology firms already maintain offices in countries with smaller populations and digital markets than Nigeria.
He cited the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Japan as countries hosting regional headquarters and operational hubs of major technology companies.
According to him, those offices support engineering, AI research, legal and regulatory compliance, public policy, cloud services, customer support and product development.
Nwoko said the presence of the companies had helped those countries create jobs, boost tax revenue, strengthen regulatory engagement, promote technology transfer and attract foreign investment.
“The question therefore is simple: if countries with significantly smaller populations and digital markets than Nigeria have secured these investments and benefits, why should Nigeria continue to stand on the sidelines? Why should Africa’s largest digital market not enjoy the same opportunities?” he said.
