Governor Akeredolu backs social media regulation
- Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has backed the controversial advocacy supporting the regulation of social media
- The Ondo state governor said this will help curb the dangerous spread of misleading and fake news
- Meanwhile, Seyi Makinde of Oyo differed, saying no resolution was made to gag social media during the southwest governors' meeting
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Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state, has backed the regulation of the social media, saying the government "must find a way to control it" in order to curb the spread of dangerous fake news.
The governor made this disclosure while speaking on Channels TV's Sunrise Daily from Akure, Ondo state capital on Wednesday, November 11.
Legit.ng notes that Akeredolu's position is coming on the heels of the last meeting held between the southwest governors' forum and traditional and political leaders in the region
Reinforcing the need to control the social media, the governor described as unfortunate and regrettable the spread of fake stories on the Lekki shooting.
Source: Twitter
Akeredolu, who is the chairman of the southwest governors' forum, argued that "there must be a way" to censor social media because, in top countries like Russia, such move has been taken by the government to avoid an incident capable of degenerating into lawlessness.
"If we cannot be disciplined enough to be able to know that we don't churn out news that can cause a lot of damage in the society, then the government itself must be proactive enough to find a way to control it."
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Meanwhile, Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde, has distanced himself from the proposed clampdown on social media through regulation.
In a tweet, the governor also denied media reports that his colleagues in the southwest voted in favour of the controversial social media regulation bill.
Makinde said the southwest governors only resolved the existing Cybercrime Act (Cybercrime Prohibition Prevention Act, 2015) should be allowed to take its course instead of duplicating an existing law in the name of social media bill.
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Source: Legit.ng
