Report: Over N2 billion lost to Twitter ban in past 24 hours

By


 An estimated N2 billion naira has been lost to the ban on Twitter by the Nigerian government, NetBlocks, an international Internet monitor, says.


NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST) is a data-driven online service that enables anyone to quickly and easily produce rough estimates of the economic cost of Internet disruptions.

The digital rights advocacy platform estimates the economic impact of an internet disruption, mobile data blackout or app restriction using indicators from the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Eurostat amongst others.

According to its analysis, an estimated N2.1 billion naira is lost when Nigeria shuts down Twitter for 24 hours.

NetBlock says it uses the Brookings Institution’s method which relies on development indicators and Naira/dollar exchange rate of November 2019.

However, it did not specify whether this estimated loss is from advertisement revenue, Twitter marketing and sales of products, traffic generated by Twitter or a drop in telecommunications operators’ revenue.

Nigeria’s information minister Lai Mohammed, on Friday, announced the ban and a federal government directive ordering the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to “immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.”

As a result of the restrictions implemented by telecommunications operators, Nigerians have been denied access to the microblogging platform and can only access by bypassing domain restrictions through alternative mediums.

The suspension followed Twitter’s deletion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s controversial tweet about the civil war after some Nigerian users found it offensive.

The government, in its response, accused the platform of meddling in Nigeria’s internal affairs and undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.

While the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has ordered the prosecution of Twitter users in Nigeria after its ban, the presidency says the ban is temporary and an attempt to curb fake news.

Nevertheless, human rights groups as well as members of the international community have continued to mount pressure on the federal government to reverse the suspension. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prostitution; Nigerian Women At Growing Risk From Human Traffickers In Germany.

By
Image
According to InfoMigrants, Nigerian women are at growing risk from traffickers in Germany who exploit and engage them in prostitution. Read the full report below by InfoMigrants. The new prostitute protection law in Germany was meant to identify victims of human trafficking – most of them migrant women. More than 18 months after the law came into effect, thousands continue to be targeted for exploitation, and the risk for Nigerian women seems to be increasing. There are campervans parked by the roadside. Some have hearts painted on them, one says “girls, girls” in red letters. It’s an easy matter for someone to stop for a quick transaction in one of these Love-Mobiles – sex with one of the “girls” in exchange for the going rate. Prostitution is mainly legal in Germany, as are these mobile brothels. But many of the women in the business – including those working from the Love-Mobiles – are victims of illegal human trafficking. Most of the women are from Eastern Europe or Nige
Read more

FULL TEXT: A sacrifice for our new political order – Ezekwesili

By
Image
“When the ACPN leadership approached me in a series of visits to appeal that I run for office on their platform, the party appeared to be a good fit. It was founded by some disgruntled PDP members some years ago, but when its prime founder decided to return to the PDP, a core of its membership refused to move back with him. I was told that they stayed back because of their opposition to the ways of the PDP. Considering my vocal disapproval of the PDP and the APC, I admired the ACPN’s decision to stand firm and refusal to be co-opted.” It has been an interesting one week since I made the tough but necessary decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency. I have been truly overwhelmed by the reactions to my announcement from Nigerians. Even in airports outside the country as I travelled last week, Nigerians walked up to me with questions, concerns, encouragement, and motivation. I also saw disappointment by some who had poured their hearts and hopes into actualising our mission
Read more

Update On Slay Queen Who Was Stripped Naked And Tortured Over Missing Phone.

By
Image
The League of Patriotic Lawyers has given Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olusegun Odumosu, 24 hours to unravel those behind the torture and insertion of pepper into a girl’s private part in Benin City over alleged stealing of a mobile phone.  Chairman of the platform and former Student Union President of the University of Benin, Mr. Abubakar Yesufu, who said this in a statement yesterday, also urged the state Director, Department of State Services, DSS, to be involved in the investigation. A video of the incident, seen by Vanguard yesterday, showed the girl being stripped naked by a group of people, who inserted pepper into her private parts for allegedly stealing a phone. The unidentified girl was heard crying and saying she didn’t steal any phone, while she was being humiliated by the crowd. Yesufu said: “The League of Patriotic Lawyers has given the Edo State Commissioner of Police 24 hours to arrest and commence prosecution of all the street urchins behind this ba
Read more