Coalition warns against unregulated technologies, policies

FG considers indigenous solution for data law

ALab, Data and Digital Right Coalition has initiated a policy to correct the growing adoption of unregulated digital technologies and policies in Nigeria, particularly Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act.

At an event on Monday in Abuja to commemorate Data Privacy Week, Accountability Lab, Nigeria Country Director, Odeh Friday, warned that the development was amplifying threats to freedom of speech in the country, maintaining that it was also eroding data protection and digital privacy rights, and civil liberties.

According to Friday, the briefs are advocating an urgent and comprehensive review of existing legislation and the formulation of new laws such as the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill and the need for well- informed judicial oversight to govern and rectify digital practices that impede civil liberties.

He maintained that the briefs underscore the challenges of poor awareness regarding digital rights, online harm prevention, and content moderation, adding that the brief will also address the absence of explicit ethical guidelines and inadequate oversight mechanisms, not informed by public feedback.

Friday explained that the absence of explicit guidelines creates an environment prone to potential misuse and abuse by government security agencies, particularly in counterterrorism efforts, leading to severe consequences such as human rights violations and harassment.

MEANWHILE, the Federal Government has said Nigeria Data Protection Act ( NDPA) would be implemented, using indigenous- developed solutions.

The National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission ( NDPC), Vincent Olatunji, revealed this in an interview on the 2024 Data Privacy Week with the media on Monday in Abuja.