The Nigerian government has unveiled plans to control streaming and content companies such as Netflix.
who claimed that these platforms may be used to “create havoc” and destabilize Nigeria’s democratic processes.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and industry partners met for a two-day conference to address “the implication of Nigeria censorship laws and regulatory framework for Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming services and content providers in Nigeria.”
According to the Nigerian News Agency (NAN), the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made the announcement, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the popularity and demand for streaming services in Nigeria, “therefore its regulation.”
The minister, who was represented by the ministry’s Director of Information and Technology, Comfort Ajiboye, reaffirmed his long-held belief that social media and streaming services might be used to “create disorder and undermine democratic processes.”
The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) hosted a conference on Wednesday in Lagos with practitioners and stakeholders in the entertainment and creative industries.
Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director and CEO of the NFVCB, stated in his opening remarks that the purpose of the conference was to deliberate on how to create policies to control streamers and content providers in Nigeria.
“With over 50 per cent internet penetration, it has become imperative to convene this conference to bring together stakeholders and legislators in a conversation so as to come up with crystal policies on the regulation of streamers and content providers,” Thomas said.
Streaming service providers are unable to self-regulate, according to the NFVCB’s chairman, which is why their operations are currently being reviewed at the conference with the title “Nigeria Digital Content Regulation.”
Thomas, however, pledged that, “the goal of regulation is not to stifle creativity but to create sanity and encourage healthy competition for socio-economic gains.”
Shola Sanni, Netflix Director of Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, was a panelist at the conference.
Members of Nollywood’s numerous guilds, such as the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) and the Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), are among the attendees (DGN).
The Association of Movie Producers (AMP), the Theatre and Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), and other organizations are among them.
Local and international streaming services, Free To Air (FTA), Pay TV operators, and other content developers were also represented.
