The Senate has passed for second reading a bill seeking to amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to require social media platforms to establish physical offices within Nigeria.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North), also proposes that bloggers operating in the country must set up verifiable offices in state capitals, maintain employee records, and join a recognised national association of bloggers headquartered in Abuja.
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Senator Nwoko argued that despite Nigeria’s large digital presence, platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat do not have offices in the country. He said this absence limits local representation, causes economic losses, and creates challenges with data protection compliance.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio welcomed the bill’s focus on ensuring social media platforms have local addresses but called for further scrutiny of the proposed blogger regulations. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, which is expected to report back in two months.
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