The Nigerian government through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on Thursday issued a fresh notice to all social media platforms and online broadcasting service providers in Nigeria to apply for its broadcast licence.
This new directive affects Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok and others.
NBC Director-General, Armstrong Idachaba, issued the notification in newspaper advertisement on Thursday
NBC warned that any online broadcast service provider that fails to obtain a licence will be considered an illegal entity and would be outlawed.
Idachaba said the application is in line with the provision of the National Broadcasting Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federation 2004, Section 2(1)(b)).
“The commission shall have responsibility of receiving, processing and considering applications for the establishment, ownership or operation of radio and television stations including cable television services, Direct Satellite Broadcast (DSB), and any medium of broadcasting.
“The National Broadcasting Commission hereby directs every Online Broadcast Service provider and social media platforms operating within the Nigerian state to apply and obtain broadcast licence for their service(s),” he said.
Professor Idachaba said the application should be sent to his Abuja office.
This directive is coming after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) ordered all telecoms to block Nigerians from accessing Twitter.