Stakeholder Consultation on the Establishment of Internet Industry Code of Practice

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) hereby invites all affected and interested parties as well as the general public to a Stakeholder Consultation on the;

ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNET INDUSTRY CODE OF PRACTICE.

As part of its Internet Governance functions, the Nigerian Communications Commission seeks input from stakeholders in the development of a code of practice in support of an open internet. The Commission favours a multi-stakeholder model of engagement in the process of policy development for Internet Governance.

The proposed Code of Practice seeks, among other things, to:

1. Protect the rights and interests of Internet Service Providers and consumers;
2. Provide jointly agreed and effective solutions to the issues of discriminatory traffic management practices;
3. Ensure adequate safeguards are put in place by service providers against abuses such as unsolicited messages;
4. Outline the obligations of Service Providers in relation to offensive and potentially harmful content for minors and vulnerable audiences;
5. Promote the safe, secure and responsible use of Internet Services with due regard to provisions in existing legal instruments;
6. Establish best practices for Internet Governance in Nigeria, in line with emerging issues and global trends;
7. Provide transparent rules for the assessment and classification of Internet content;
8. Increase stakeholder satisfaction through improved consumer experience online.

Extensive consultation of stakeholders is crucial to the success of this exercise. Key stakeholders identified include:

• All Internet Service Providers in Nigeria
• Relevant Associations (ISPAN, CPN, ATCON, ALTON, GSMA, Nigerian Computer Society, Nigerian Internet Governance Forum, etc.)
• Government Ministries, Agencies, and Departments (NCC, NITDA, NBC, CBN, Ministry of Communication, etc.)
• Security Agencies (Police, EFCC, ICPC, NSA, etc.) Interested multinationals (Facebook, Microsoft, Oracle, etc.)
• Academia
• The General Public

Stakeholders are expected to submit their input (comments, concerns, feedback, and suggestions for scope and content) via our Online Public Consultation Portal. Input submitted via this facility will be taken into consideration in the drafting of the Internet Industry Code of Conduct.

A draft of the Internet Industry Code of Practice will be made available to stakeholders for feedback and change requests when ready. Stakeholders will be invited to a presentation of the draft at a special Stakeholder Consultation Workshop where they will be expected to critique and suggest improvements to the draft.

Stakeholders will also be able to submit their critiques and suggestions via the Online Public Consultation Portal up until the final draft of the code is produced.

Feedback received from key stakeholders via the Online Public Consultation Portal as well as during the Stakeholder Consultation Workshop will be factored into the transitioning of the draft into the final code of practice.

The web link for the online public consultation portal for the establishment of internet industry code of practice is:
    http://www.ncc.gov.ng/internet-code-of-practice-consultation

This will be active until June 23, 2017.

Thank you.

Signed

MANAGEMENT
NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION