Nollywood actor Damilola Ogunsi has voiced his support for a social media regulation bill being discussed by Nigerian lawmakers, arguing that the current state of online discourse is negatively affecting society.
The actor recently sat down with a panel on News Central TV, where he criticised bloggers and social media influencers for spreading misinformation, which he believes is shaping public perception in harmful ways.
We have turned the society into something else. We have lots of bloggers who are pushing nonsense in today’s society. There are times when you have conversations with people and you hear them use social media lingo in what they’re saying. A lot of people are actually living and having their perceptions guided by what they find online.
While acknowledging the importance of free speech, Ogunsi pointed out that some countries have successfully implemented social media restrictions in ways that benefit the public.
I understand that we shouldn’t muffle the voice of the people and they shouldn’t be stifled, i mean look at what happened in Turkey. They’re really Draconian in what they do. If you look at how they’re doing it Dubai, you’d see that they’re doing it for the benefit of the people and the society.
Ogunsi further emphasized the need for accountability in online spaces, taking a hard stance against bloggers who, in his view, operate without consequences.
I believe there should be regulations to regulate how these bloggers operate. You know how bloggers blog from home and say, ‘I’m at home, come and beat me.’ This is the year where we should be doing that, beating them. There are no consequences and people put anything out there and the society is going crazy.
