The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), appears to have agreed with some stakeholders in the Information and Communications Technology sector that, while free Internet access in public places can aid the penetration of internet across Nigeria, there are causes to be worried as it is detrimental to national security.
“While we commend operators who are currently providing this service across Nigeria, as the service increases the use of internet and Information Technology for development of Nigeria, the provision of Public Internet Access Services can be misused with great detriment to development of Information Technology and national security, in a manner that may be injurious to the citizens,” NITDA said in a statement signed by its Director General, Dr Isa Pantami.
Thus, it said it is set to enforce compliance with the Public Internet Access (PIA) Regulation, issued pursuant to Section 6 of the NITDA Act 2007, in line with its mandate of promoting and regulating Information Technology in Nigeria.
The Public Internet Access Regulation, according to NITDA is a regulatory framework for the provision of internet services in public areas or locations where members of the public have unfettered access. The regulation provides minimum requirements and processes for provisioning of the public internet access service and mandates compliance reporting to ensure the rules are followed in provisioning of this vital and strategic service.
The IT regulatory agency therefore calls on all service providers of public internet service such as IT companies, Restaurants, Hotels and Event Centres to comply with the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation of the NITDA 2019, noting that the Federal Government is also concerned about the management and use of the personal information of Nigerians.
NITDA also stated that only registered, verified and vetted providers can provide public internet access service in Nigeria, stressing that the violation of the Regulatory Guidelines of NITDA is a criminal offence and punishable with a fine, imprisonment or both.