The coming days would be heavily uncertain for startups in Nigeria which rely on Twitter, the global social media giant, to market their products or services. This follows the indefinite suspension of the latter by the Nigerian government for deleting a controversial tweet and a video posted by the country’s President Mohammed Buhari, in which he threatened Biafran separatists by referencing the 1967–1970 civil war, which claimed the lives of a million people.
The tweet, Twitter had said, violated its rules and policies. However, government had insisted the microblogging site was being used to “undermine the country’s corporate existence.” Ironically, the information was disseminated via the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture’s official Twitter account.
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While public debates about the propriety or otherwise of the suspension still rage on, it is important to consider the fate of Nigeria-based startups which rely on Twitter for marketing purposes.
How Have Companies Elsewhere Where Twitter Is Under Block Circumvented The Situation?
Although there are wide options open to companies affected by the government suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, including the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN), company policies around further marketing on Twitter may be guided mostly by the need to avoid running into legal issues with regulators and government agencies, especially as penalties may come by way of sanctions and fines.
However, a few lessons may be gleaned from countries where Twitter or other social media networks are currently under block.
Read also:Twitter Deletes Buhari’s Offensive ‘Civil War’ Tweet
In China, even though Twitter is officially blocked, the platform continues to be used by major Chinese corporations and national media outlets, such as Huawei and CCTV, through a government-approved VPN. Generally, the Chinese government has officially prohibited the use of VPNs that have not been approved by the government (VPNs must provide the government with backdoor access to be approved, which renders them unsecure). This law, however, only applies to businesses and organizations, and not to people. However, fines and jail terms have ranged from three days to more than five years for Chinese individuals discovered constructing or selling unlicensed VPNs.
In North Korea, anyone attempting to get entry to Twitter — which had had access to it blocked since 2016 — without special authorization from the North Korean government, including international tourists and residents, will be prosecuted.
What Happens To Nigerian Startups Hoping To Continue To Rely On Twitter For Marketing?
Although the Nigerian government’s directive suspending Twitter only stops at a statement for now, its implementation may have the effect of penalizing any Nigerian company that advertises on the platform by any unofficial circumventions, especially as the country’s government has been known, in recent times, for muffling lives out of businesses through regulations and policies.
According to the statement from the Ministry of Information and Culture, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had been immediately mandated to commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.
The recently approved 6th amendment to the country’s broadcasting code states that all persons wishing to operate web/online broadcasting services within the Nigerian territory must be registered with the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), in charge of regulating broadcast media in Nigeria. The implication of this is that all online broadcasting or streaming services existing in Nigeria must not only be registered and licensed by the NBC, but must also comply with any programming standards issued by the NBC. Thus the NBC, in totality, is bringing all forms of online broadcasting within its control. In the event of breach of the new rules, the online broadcast service shall be blocked, taken down or shutdown completely, the rules state.
However, while it could be argued that the operations of Twitter in Nigeria does not fall under the provisions of the new NBC Code, and indeed under the powers of the country’s broadcasting commission, any such arguments may not matter much for companies, especially startups, as they struggle to stay away from regulatory sanctions for now, pending new developments.
Nevertheless, while Twitter has officially been suspended, other social media platforms remain operative in the West African country.
In 2020, the number of social media users in Nigeria reached roughly 28 million, a majority of whom are young people aged between 18–35 years.
On a negative note, unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 33.30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 27.10 percent in the second quarter of 2020.
A good of number Nigeria’s young people act as “influencers” on Twitter, essentially assisting brands to market their products and services.
Globally, Twitter’s potential advertising reach is roughly 396 million people.
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Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer