FG, Others Preach for Online Safety after $32.8m Data Privacy Settlement with NDPC

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Paradigm Initiative (PIN) and othe...

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Paradigm Initiative (PIN) and other experts in the information communication technology (ICT) space, have pushed for collaboration as a strategy to tackle rising online challenges, including cyberbullying, sextortion and others.

Speaking at Online Safety Forum 2025 in Lagos which was organised by Techsocietal with: ‘Digital Access, Accountable Platforms and Onclusive Regulation’ as theme, they said only a multi-stakeholder approach will ensure online safety while upholding the fundamental human right of citizens.

Sylvia Musalagani, Safety Policy Manager, Africa, Middle East & Turkey at Meta, who is a leading advocate for online safety, said the organization ensures content integrity as well as use artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure safety.

Speaking during a panel discussion on: ‘Future at the Edges: Online Safety in the Age of AI, Deepfakes and Emerging Tech’, she said Meta as a company evaluates content, whether human or AI generated based on the company’s community rules, adding that should there be violations, the company will do the needful.

She stressed the need for collaboration to address all the challenges that come with the boost in online engagements.

Mr Gbenga Sesan, executive director, Paradigm Initiative, in his keynote said there is the need for a multi-stakeholder approach involving regulators, civil society organisations (CSOs) and security agencies to ensure online security.

Sesan said security, safety and right are intrinsically intertwined dismissing the notion of a “paradox of security versus rights.

“What we must do is have the difficult task of making sure that human rights is a security issue, security is a human rights issue.

“We can keep children safe, we can keep everyone safe online without disrespecting the rights of other citizens,’’ he said.

According to him, this balance had been achieved elsewhere and requires all key players to cooperate.

Sesan cautioned against unilateral action, saying regulators could not on their own make rules without balanced impact, civil society cannot simply reject every proposal, and security agencies cannot solely rely on clamping down.

“Everybody needs to come around the table and adjust their plans until it becomes fair,’’ he said.

Ibukunoluwa Owa of NDPB said the threat has become more serious, almost posing existential risks, including video, voice and cloned images of people circulating all over the place online.

She lamented the difficulty in regulation because innovation moves in the speed of lightning.

She said the development has kept regulators on their toes. She frowned at the ongoing development in which sectors such as telecom and banking use their customers data without their consent for advertising through predictive analysis. “The law states that any decision that is taken about you without your decision is illegal,” she insisted.

Yewande Gbola-Awopetu, head, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Response Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice, said amendments to the existing laws have been made to take care of emerging online challenges, hoping that will take effect by next year.

She said there are beautiful laws in place but the problem has always been implementation and funding.

Also speaking, Juliet Olumuyiwa, pioneer centre manager, Mirabel Centre, highlighted the increasing sophistication of perpetrators who could create “fake bodies” and exploit a person’s likeness without consent, using advancements in technology like AI.

Olumuyiwa said perpetrators were advancing and no longer need the victim’s involvement but can simply use their face and likeness to design a fabricated image.

She said this non-consensual exploitation inflicts significant psychological and emotional stress on the victims.

According to her, individuals must possess these image based rights to grant them a means of escape and recovery, emphasising that any use of a person’s image should be consent to.

Kingsley Owadara of ChatVe in his final note said any problem that was created by AI will be solved by AI while Ibukunoluwa advised everyone to ‘educate yourself’.

The experts however said the introduction of digital tools and platforms is seen as a key strategy to bridge the gap and facilitate the reporting process.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).