The bill, ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill, 2019,’ sponsored by Senator Mohammed Musa, has passed the second reading at the Senate
In his debate, the sponsor of the bill, Mr Musa said the Bill does not intend to gag the media but to check the spread of false information on the internet.
He also prescribed up to N300,000 fine for an individual if found guilty; and up to N10 million for corporate organisations.
READ ALSO: Senate rejects Buhari’s NDDC board nominee, confirms 15 others
After the debate, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, put the issue to a voice vote and majority of the lawmakers voted in support of the Bill.
Mr Lawan, therefore, referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Judiciary. The committee was asked to report back after four weeks.
As part of its work, the committee is expected to conduct a public hearing on the bill.
