Due to the possibility of abuse, the Federal Government says it plans to regulate Netflix and other streaming services in the country.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this at a two-day conference themed ‘Nigeria Digital Content Regulation’ organised by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB).
Mohammed spoke during a session on “the implication of Nigeria censorship laws and regulatory framework for Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming services and content providers in Nigeria’ at the conference held on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Minister explained that the popularity and demand of streaming services in Nigeria increased with the COVID-19 pandemic, “hence its regulation.”
The Minister, who Director, Information and Technology, Comfort Ajiboye represented, reiterated that social media and streaming services can be used “to cause chaos and undermine democratic processes.”
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of the NFVCB, Adedayo Thomas, said it was to brainstorm on creating policies to regulate streamers and content providers in Nigeria.
“With over 50 per cent internet penetration, it has become imperative to convene this conference to bring together stakeholders and legislators in a conversation to come up with crystal policies on the regulation of streamers and content providers,” he said.
Thomas added that streaming service providers could not self-regulate, hence discussing their operations at the conference. He, however, promised that “the goal of regulation is not to stifle creativity but to create sanity and encourage healthy competition for socio-economic gains.”
Panelists and participants at the conference included Netflix’s Director of Public Policy, Sub-Saharan Africa, Shola Sanni, Actors Guild of Nigeria, Directors Guild of Nigeria, Association of Movie Producers and Theatre and Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria. There were also representatives of local and international streaming services, Free to Air (FTA), Pay TV operators and other content creators.
