Groups, CSOs Seek Passage of Revised Digital Rights Bill
James Emejo in Abuja
A consortium of activists and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)
including Paradigm Initiative, and Gatefield Communication have called for the passage of the revised Digital Rights and Freedom Bill toward a safe and thriving digital space.
The stakeholders noted that the online civic space serves as a refuge for citizens, including marginalised groups, to raise their voices and influence change, adding that the digital media also serves as an effective tool to raise awareness on critical socio-political issues.
Paradigm Initiative and Gatefield, alongside over 200 activists are currently signatories to the digital rights petition.
Programme Officer, Paradigm Initiative (Anglophone West Africa), Khadijah El-Usman, said the rise of internet usage in Nigeria has increased online civic space engagement, advocacy, and mobilisation.
She said the development had, however, increased reliance on digital journalism, democratising the flow of information traditionally controlled by newspapers, magazines, radio, and television companies.
She stressed that using the internet comes with unique challenges and emerging issues as the use, access, and understanding of technology is constantly evolving, and in the process creating a gap that the Digital Rights and Freedoms Bill of 2019 attempts to fill.
El-Usman said there is a need for citizens’ data protection, freedom of expression online, internet governance, regulation, shutdowns, online privacy, and surveillance.
According to her, the bill represented a bold attempt to legislate on digital rights, such as the right to online privacy, anonymity, freedom of expression and opinion online, and freedom of information online.
Others are the right to peaceful assembly and association online, freedom to learn, protection of privacy of students online, right to create public knowledge, e-governance, and financial transparency.
Senior Associate Advocacy and Engagement, Gatefield, Mr. Edozie Chukwuma, said with Nigeria’s 2023 election in view, upholding digital rights by safeguarding the rights to freedom of expression, association online, and sharing information online and privacy has become an issue of political and electoral interest.
