A former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, has called for the regulation of the TikTok app, News About Nigeria reports.
He made this call in a statement on Wednesday, stating that the social media app TikTok is causing more harm than good for Nigeria.
He stated that the platform is increasingly favoured by criminal elements, and used by them to reach the public, and therefore requires stricter regulation by stakeholders.
According to him, the freedom provided by the app is emboldening criminals to spread misinformation and propaganda.
He added that the government needs to introduce stricter regulations and content monitoring on TikTok to prevent the dangerous individuals from using it for their malicious agendas.
He said, “It is alarming that TikTok, a global social media platform, is being utilised by criminals such as bandits, kidnappers, and terrorists in Nigeria to interact with the public and, in some cases, even engage in live conversations defending their heinous activities.
“The platform is causing more harm than good to our country, as it not only amplifies the voices of these criminals but also emboldens them by providing a space to spread their propaganda and misinformation. Nigeria needs stricter regulations and content monitoring on TikTok to prevent these dangerous individuals from using it for their malicious agendas.”
Recall that during Buhari’s tenure, the Federal Government banned the operations of the microblogging site Twitter, now X, in Nigeria for 222 days.
Twitter’s operations were suspended in Nigeria in June 2021, just days after the platform deleted a tweet by Buhari.
The Buhari administration, of which Ahmed was a part, lifted the ban from midnight on 13 January 2022.
