Govt Bans Social Media In Schools, Among Workers, Regulates Sharing Of Nude Photos

Govt has banned social media in schools, among workers and regulates sharing of nude photos.

OnyxNews Nigeria reports that the Katsina State Government has placed a ban on the use of Facebook and Whatsapp in schools across the state.

It also banned social media usage among civil servants in the state.

The ban was contained in a circular with number MOE/ZDKT/ADG/VOL.1 by the state’s Ministry of Education’s Zonal Education Quality Assurance and sent to all heads and principals of public schools in the state.

In the circular dated December 7 and titled, “Abolishing of WhatsApp group in our schools” was signed by the state’s Zonal Coordinator, Muhammad Sada Dikko, it pointed out that the state government also directed principals to stop all existing Whatsapp groups in their respective schools.

The government said workers should not use Facebook to comment on its activities, either positively or negatively.

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The circular reads, “I am directed to write and inform all the principals to direct the various Group Admin in their respective schools to wipe out the so-called school WhatsApp.

“The abolishing of this group becomes necessary due to the multiple postings being made, which create problems and insubordination between the school authority and its staff.

“Principals should also remind their staff about the government circular that prohibits any civil servant from commenting positively or negatively on government activities on Facebook or WhatsApp.”

Similarly, a fresh bill passed by the South African parliament is seeking to regulate how users share nudes and other intimate contents on the Facebook-owned instant messaging app, WhatsApp.

The bill which was introduced in 2017 and has undergone a lot of changes, criminalizes revenge porn and cracks down on some cyber crimes associated with the instant messaging application.

The bill which made it clear that sending of intimate content which can be seen as harmful without the subject’s consent has been criminalised, also allows the personal data of WhatsApp users to be subjected to scrutiny by both the law enforcement agencies and the electronic communications service providers and financial institutions which have been tasked to monitor such cyber crimes on the instant messaging app.

It also stipulates that any individual, be it on WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter, who discloses a data message to a single person, group of persons, or the public with the intention to incite damage or violence is guilty of an offence. This include sharing of porn videos and images – that do not belong you, or rather, that do not have you as the participant in the imagery is a criminal offence.

The bill which was passed on December 2, is now awaiting the approval of the President.