Business
Why Somalian government bans TikTok, Telegram, and 1XBet
The government of Somalia has banned TikTok, messaging app Telegram, and the online-betting website 1XBet.
The country’s Minister of Communications, Jama Hassan Khalif, who announced this in a statement said the internet companies were banned to limit the spread of indecent content and propaganda.
This development further spotlights concerns by governments across the world on the operations of social media apps.
Tackling misinformation
While noting that the ban became necessary in the country to tackle misinformation, the statement read:
- “The minister of communications orders internet companies to stop the aforementioned applications, which terrorists and immoral groups use to spread constant horrific images and misinformation to the public.”
The decision comes days after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said a military offensive against al Shabaab aims to eliminate the al Qaeda-linked group in the next five months.
Members of the insurgent group al Shabaab often post about their activities on TikTok and Telegram.
The order gave internet service providers until Aug. 24 to comply. 1XBet is popular in Somalia for betting, especially on soccer matches.
TikTok faces ban across countries
Globally, the social media app owned by a Chinese company, Bytedance has come under serious criticism leading to its ban in several countries. TikTok has been threatened with bans in the United States over its alleged ties to the Chinese government and the state of Montana became the first to ban the app in May.
India banned the platform in mid-2020, costing ByteDance one of its biggest markets, as the government cracked down on 59 Chinese-owned apps, claiming that they were secretly transmitting users’ data to servers outside India.
Other countries and government bodies, including Britain and its Parliament, Australia, Canada, the executive arm of the European Union, France, and New Zealand’s Parliament, have banned the app from official devices.
In Kenya, the country’s National Assembly last week, said it has received a petition to ban the app in the country.
The petition submitted by the CEO of a digital consulting firm Bridget Connect Consultancy, Bob Ndolo, stated that the country’s Communications Authority has failed to regulate the social media platform, which he claims is promoting violence, explicit sexual content, hate speech, and offensive behaviour among the youth.
The news has been received with mixed reactions from Kenyans.
The assembly is considering the petition but has suggested that a complete ban may be impossible due to the growing socioeconomic significance of the platform among young people.
The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has begun the sale of electronic tags (e-tags) at airports.
In a statement on Friday, FAAN said this initiative is in line with the presidential directive that mandates the use of e-tags for accessing the nation’s federal airports.
“Following the presidential directive that all citizens are mandated to pay for e-tags at all the 24 federal airports across the country, we wish to inform the general public that the e-tags are available for sale from Friday, 17th May, 2024 at the following locations,” FAAN said.
“Lagos: Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, Terminal 1, 5th Floor) Office of HOD Commercial. Contact: 08033713796 or 08023546030.
“Abuja: Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, HOD Commercial Office (General Aviation Terminal) Contact: 08034633527 or 08137561615.”
FAAN said there will be an option to pay in cash at the access gates for motorists without e-tags.
On May 14, Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, announced everyone, including the president and vice-president, would pay tolls at the nation’s airports.
Keyamo said the government was losing over 82 percent of the revenue it should have earned from the access fee.
Emirates Airlines has confirmed its return to operations in Nigeria starting October 1, 2024.
The airline disclosed this via its official X handle Thursday.
“We’re back, Nigeria! We’ll be resuming services to Lagos from 1 October 2024, and we can’t wait to offer unrivalled connectivity to Dubai and beyond to over 140 cities,” the tweet read.
The airline will be operating a daily service between Lagos State and Dubai, and will offer customers more choice and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to, and through, Dubai.
The naira depreciated to N1,550 against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday.
The current FX rate signifies a decline of 1.95 percent from the N1,520/$ reported on May 13.
Currency traders, also known as street traders, in Lagos, quoted the buying rate of the local currency at N1,510/$ and the selling rate at N1,550/$ — leaving a profit margin of N40.
At the official window, the local currency appreciated by 4.21 percent against the dollar from N1,520.4/$ on May 14 to close at N1,459.02 on Wednesday.
According to FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the official window, a dollar was sold as high as N1,593 and at a low rate of N1,401 during trading hours.
The daily foreign exchange market turnover was $289.14 million.
On May 14, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said foreign missions based in Nigeria use third parties to transact in foreign currencies.
Speaking during an interview, Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC’s acting director of public affairs, said the commission has a task force whose duty is to fight the abuse of the naira and discourage transactions in dollars within Nigeria — which is against the law.
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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.
She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others
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