A bill seeking to compel global social media platforms operating in Nigeria to establish physical offices in the country received strong backing from stakeholders at a public hearing in Abuja on Thursday, organized by the Senate Committee on Information and Communications Technology and Cyber Security.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North), seeks to amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, making it mandatory for social media companies to maintain physical offices within Nigeria's borders. It targets platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat — all of which operate extensively in Nigeria without local offices, despite Nigerians ranking first in Africa and second globally in daily social media usage.

Nwoko has argued the bill would improve regulation, boost accountability, drive technology transfer between multinational firms and local professionals, and push these companies to contribute more directly to Nigeria's economy — pointing to Ireland as an example, where companies like Meta, Google and TikTok have built major regional hubs.

A related provision would also affect bloggers operating in Nigeria, aiming to promote professionalism and transparency in the country's digital media space.

Controversy: The bill has drawn pushback from civil society. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) recently warned Senate leadership that the legislation is incompatible with Nigeria's constitution and international human rights standards, objecting in particular to a provision empowering the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to shut down or bar any non-compliant platform within 30 days of the law taking effect.

The bill passed second reading in March 2025 and was referred to committee; Thursday's hearing marks a fresh legislative push, alongside a separate bill — also stakeholder-backed — to establish an Artificial Intelligence Academy in Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State, sponsored by Senator Yemi Adaramodu.