The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Tik Tok have established a strategic relationship for digital transformation with the aim of establishing a secure and welcoming online platform for both artificial intelligence (AI) and human activities in Nigeria.
The director-general of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, reaffirmed the necessity of this cooperation in a statement released yesterday by the agency’s spokesperson, Hadiza Umar, when he welcomed a TikTok team to the agency’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja to discuss forming an alliance to support the nation’s digital subsector.
According to the head of NITDA, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s top goal is bolstering national security for peace and prosperity, and this is in line with the push for digital inclusion.
In reference to the safeguarding of children nationwide, he said that content moderation techniques will assist in tackling online issues including hate speech, disinformation, and cyberbullying.
He stated that content moderation to improve security and digital safety in compliance with international best practices have been made possible by the implementation of the code of practice for interactive computer service platforms/intermediaries.
He continued, saying, “No organisation or institution can function in silos; we depend on one another to actualize our goals and objectives for the provision of services and for the advancement of the country.”
Inuwa outlined several crucial areas in which the country will benefit from using the platform: Digital Literacy 4 All (DL4ALL), capacity building, knowledge sharing, trainings, and the suppression of false information; digital safety, which aims to make Nigerian users’ online experiences more secure and empowering; and trainings.
He continued by saying that the site promotes artistic expression with its filters, stickers, and editing tools; comedy and entertainment are popular themes; and educational videos covering a range of subjects are becoming more and more popular, serving as a platform for influencers and trends that have the potential to become viral.
The Head of Government Regulation and Public Policy for TikTok Nigeria and West Africa, Mrs. Tokunbo Ibrahim, previously stated that NITDA is one of the organization’s largest and most important stakeholders in Nigeria and that it has made exceptional progress in developing the digital economy sector.
Ibrahim praised NITDA for the numerous programmes, policies, and initiatives that it has implemented that are in line with TikTok’s. These initiatives allow Nigerians to use the platform to market, sell, and export their goods and services as well as showcase their talents to the outside world and earn a living.
She brought up the fact that the TikTok platform has partnerships with various projects and programmes, such as the Africa Creator Hub, with which it runs campaigns to support, empower, and educate tech creators on how to explore different parts of the platform and create content, thereby altering their narrative and incorporating values into their work.