ABUJA, Aug. 21 (AGCNewsNet) – Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says tech giants Google, Microsoft, and TikTok deactivated more than 13.5 million user accounts in 2024 in line with the country’s Code of Practice for online safety.

The announcement, made Wednesday, followed the submission of annual compliance reports under the framework jointly issued by NITDA, the Nigerian Communications Commission, and the National Broadcasting Commission.

The reports showed that users in Nigeria filed 754,629 complaints last year, leading to the removal of nearly 59 million harmful content items. Of these, more than 420,000 pieces were later reinstated following successful appeals.

In total, 13,597,057 accounts were permanently closed or deactivated for violating platform rules and Nigeria’s safety code, NITDA said.

“This marks a significant step towards fostering a safer and more responsible digital environment for Nigerian users,” said Hadiza Umar, NITDA’s Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations. She added that building a secure digital space required ongoing collaboration among regulators, platforms, and civil society.

The agency praised the platforms’ compliance, stressing that public disclosure of such reports was key to transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s digital governance.

Nigeria has ramped up regulation of global platforms since 2022, when it introduced the Code of Practice to balance innovation with user safety. Officials say while social media and digital platforms drive communication and commerce, they also fuel risks such as misinformation, online fraud, and cyberbullying.

NITDA emphasized that sustaining progress would require more than enforcement, calling for “continued cooperation between platforms, regulators, and civil society to ensure Nigeria’s digital ecosystem remains safe, transparent, and inclusive.”

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