MAIN-STREAM BROADCAST REGULATION IN NIGERIA AND THE NEED TO REGULATE SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENTS FOR NATIONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

 No society anywhere in the world can grow and develop in the state of anarchy, this underscores the place of regulation in the broadcast eco-system. The media have a sole responsibility in ensuring that the society is at peace if it must exist, while the society through the instrumentality of government regulates the activities of broadcast media for the good of all. The new media (social media) came with a lot of platforms for information dissemination around the globe such as the Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok and lot more. One cardinal feature of these platforms is that information travels very fast in the speed of light within splits of seconds, other than the conventional media. The extent to which information dissemination on these platforms has affected the growth and development of the society is what this work seeks to unravel. The objectives of the study include to find out if social media can be regulated like the conventional media of radio and tv, ascertain if the National Broadcasting Commission can be assigned to regulate the social media, find out if contents on social media platforms are censored before publication, determine if contents on social media platforms promote growth and national development, etc. The gatekeeping theory was used in the work to emphasize the need to restrict certain contents that are capable of causing disharmony, hate, and instigating violence amongst members of the society. Having, looked at the operations of the conventional media over the years, and how they are regulated by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The study concludes that an unregulated broadcast medium is a time bomb waiting to explode, hence the need to urgently regulate the social media platforms content is a criterion for national growth and development. The study recommends that a regulatory body be set up to oversee the flow of content from this stream of communication to the public. Also, the NBC can be assigned such functions, having seen how it has performed in regulating the traditional broadcast medium over the years in stemming the tide and promoting professionalism in broadcasting.