Tijani orders regulators to pause digital platforms rules for policy harmonisation
The Minister of Communications has directed NCC, NITDA and NDPC to defer regulations on internet platforms pending a policy harmonisation exercise.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to defer the implementation or enforcement of their regulations relating to internet platforms, online intermediaries or other cross-cutting digital economy matters, pending the conclusion of the Ministry’s policy harmonisation exercise.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Minister on Tuesday. According to the statement, Tijani issued the directive following a high-level strategic meeting with the agencies' leadership.
At the meeting, it was recognised that Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital economy has naturally created areas where the statutory responsibilities of sector regulators intersect. He added that while each institution possesses clearly defined mandates under its enabling legislation, the convergence of telecommunications, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, online safety and data governance requires a coordinated whole-of-government approach to policy development and implementation.
The Minister stressed that regulatory coordination is essential both to preserving legal certainty and to promoting investment, innovation, consumer confidence and Nigeria’s long-term competitiveness as Africa’s leading digital economy. Following the deliberations, the Minister issued the following policy directives: the existing regulatory status quo shall be maintained; relevant agencies are to defer implementation or enforcement of any recently issued regulation relating to internet platforms; and the Ministry shall establish a Joint Technical Coordination Committee comprising representatives of the NCC, NITDA and NDPC.
The development comes less than 24 hours after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) announced an investigation into major global technology companies over alleged anti-competitive practices and the unauthorised use of Nigerian media content.
This mirrors the 2018 data protection regulation debate, when the National Information Technology Development Agency attempted to regulate data protection before the Nigeria Data Protection Commission was established. The mechanism was different then, but the result was the same: regulatory overlap, confusion, and delay.
The winners: tech companies, which face less immediate regulatory pressure, and the Ministry, which is asserting its coordinating role. The losers: the regulators, whose authority has been curtailed, and Nigerian consumers, who may face delays in receiving regulatory protections.
Bottom Line: The Minister has told three regulators to pause their rules. That is not deregulation. That is reorganisation. The question is whether the harmonisation will ever happen.