" ITREALMS: CITAD rallies Civil Society on ‘Internet Code We Want’

Thursday, June 01, 2017

CITAD rallies Civil Society on ‘Internet Code We Want’

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) is rallying the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria to engage on the proposed Internet Code of Practice Development in the country, reports ITRealms.

CITAD Executive Director, Mr. Y.Z. Yau confirmed this to ITRealms saying that the theme of the contribution would centre on “The Internet Code We Want!”

He expected that the session will provide effort to harvest the contribution of significant group of stakeholders in the internet community.

The one-day event, he said, has been scheduled for Thursday, June 8, this year at the Yar Adua Centre, Abuja.

Stressing that given that the internet is critical development tools, he said, it is important that CSOs develop an appropriate national code on how to access and use it.

“The NCC’s invitation to stakeholder is a in the traditional of best practice in inclusive policy making,” he said.

Civil society, as said by Yau, is critical stakeholders and would being making input to the process.

“In order to generate this input, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has planned a Civil Society Consultative Forum on Internet Code of Practice for Nigeria,” he said.

The forum, he said, would bring different civil society organizations to deliberate on the issue and come up with positions that could be submitted to the NCC process.

ITRealms recalls that in effort to develop set of Code of Practice for Internet for the country, the Nigerian government, through the telecommunications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says this is in support of net neutrality and an open internet.

Among the objectives of the proposed code are:
1.      Protect the rights and interests of internet service providers and consumers
2.      Provide jointly agreed and effective solutions to the issues of discriminatory traffic management practices
3.      Ensure adequate safeguards are put in place by service providers against abuses such as unsolicited messages;
4.      Outline the obligations of Service Providers in relation to offensive and potentially harmful content for minors and vulnerable audiences
5.      Promote the safe, secure and responsible use of Internet Services with due regard to provisions in existing legal instruments;
6.      Establish best practices for Internet Governance in Nigeria, in line with emerging issues and global trends;
7.      Provide transparent rules for the assessment and classification of Internet content;
8.      Increase stakeholder satisfaction through improved consumer experience online;
9.      Improve competition by addressing issues of traffic management;
10. Improve operational efficiency.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE
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