FG asks Google to delete IPOB materials from its platforms

The Federal Government has said it is collaborating with the global internet company, Google, to curb the excesses of subversive YouTube channels, being used to spread hate speech and misinformation against Nigeria.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this yesterday, during a courtesy call on him by a delegation from the global tech company in Abuja. He expressed delight that both the Federal Government and Google shared the same concern on the responsible use of social media.

The Minister stated that Google had become a platform of choice for the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB), which he described a proscribed terrorist group.

Mohammed implored the tech giant to deny IPOB the use of its platform for its acts of violence and destabilisation. He said Nigerians are among the most vibrant social media users in the world, with over 100 million Internet users in the country.

According to the minister, “Internet platforms such as Google, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and WhatsApp enable Nigerians to interact, share ideas, earn a living and participate in social and political affairs”, but however observed that those platforms are also used by unscrupulous persons or groups for subversive and nefarious activities.

Mohammed further said the Nigerian Government had recently proposed a “Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries” in an attempt to provide a framework for collaboratively protecting Nigerian users of Internet platforms.

The Google Regional Director (Sub-Saharan Africa, Government Affairs and Public Policy), Charles Murito, said the platform has introduced a programme called “Trusted Flaggers” for citizens trained to track and engage with online contents in order to flag contents of serious concern.

Related news

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.