TheCable

The Center for Liberty (CFL), a civil society organisation, says it developed democratic solutions to fake news and hate speech — as an alternative to the social media bill.

In a statement signed by Raphael Adebayo and Maryam Ahmed, its conveners, on Monday, the group expressed displeasure over the senate’s silence on the bill.

The group said it has developed a democratic-solutions document identical to those of other democratic nations, which will solve the problem of disinformation.

It asked the senate to consider the document as an alternative to the bill.

“We wish to express our strong disapproval on the prolonged silence of the Ninth Senate over the proposed Social Media Bill. The pronounced inaction of the Senate to either kill the Bill or consider better, democratic solutions, indicate bad faith on the part of the upper chamber,” the CSO said.

“It is almost a year since a public hearing was held on the “Protection from Internet Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill,” commonly known as the Social Media Bill, but an official report on the public hearing has not been made public, neither has the interment of the Bill which was overwhelmingly rejected by the Nigerian people during the public hearing, happened.

“Under our Digital Freedom Advocacy, with the support of Voice Nigeria, we have been able to develop Democratic Solutions to Disinformation or Fake News, in our humble effort to show the Nigerian Senate that there are better ways to deal with this global problem, without resorting to penal legislation like the Social Media Bill. Our Democratic Solutions document proposes alternative measures to deal with the problem of Disinformation, by adopting practical and proven practices of other democratic nations dealing with the same problem.

“We believe that it is in the interest of the Nigerian people for the Senate to consider this document, as a potential remedial tool for dealing with Fake News and Hate Speech in Nigeria. The attitude of the Ninth Senate so far, especially after receiving multiple correspondences from our organization on the Democratic Solutions document, indicates bad faith and an unwillingness to engage Nigerians and adopt humane and practical solutions to deal with the problem.

“In conclusion, we wish to use this opportunity to entreat the Ninth Senate, to strongly consider the democratic solutions document, as a democratic, credible and potential way of addressing the problems of Disinformation and Hate Speech in Nigeria.”

The social media bill passed second reading at the senate in November 2019.

But at the senate public hearing of March, 2020, 80 percent of stakeholders opposed the bill, asking the lawmakers to drop it.