Top Stories on Internet Services and Global Policy Shifts

There has been many controversies online among Nigerians using Facebook social media platform as human right lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) filed a $5m lawsuit against Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc., for invasion over his privacy.

This lawsuit has put many Nigerians on edge especially content creators over the future of Nigerians on the platform as they fear that Meta might tighten its rules on Nigerian users than before.

Femi Falana (SAN) who claims that Meta wrongfully used his image, name and voice in a false advertisement for a health product under a page known as “AfriCare Health Centre” on its platform, portraying him as a patient suffering and battling from prostatitis for the past 16 years and struggled with symptoms like pain, fatigue, and urinary issues.

He stated that Meta’s failure to verify the claims before publishing had exposed him to ridicule and emotional distress to him as he has never had any dealing with the page on any issues concerning his health. 

He also asserted that Meta allegedly spread false publicity in order to boost engagement and ad revenue on the platform, demanding a $5m general damages for the distress and reputational harm caused.

Will Falana win the lawsuit? Will the lawsuit lead to another set of rules for Nigerians on Facebook?

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MTN Nigeria Increases Data Tariffs

MTN Nigeria has sparked widespread reactions on social media as the network provider significantly increased their data tariffs due to the Nigerian Communications Commision (NCC) recent approval for telecoms operators to increase their tariffs by 50 percent. The decision was made in January to help in sustaining service quality amid operational cost in the sector. 

Many Nigerians have expressed concerns over the tariff increase saying the cost of data will further strain household budgets and make internet access less affordable especially at a time when they are still struggling with the economic fallout from the removal of fuel subsidies in 2023.

Many said the increase is more than the 50 percent approved by the NCC as the new tariffs from the network providers is up to 200 percent increase. 

Check out the new tariff here. What’s your view on this?

Trending Local News

• Air Peace, Ethiopian Airlines and Receives Sanction: Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA) handed sanction letters to five airlines which include Royal Air Maroc, Arik Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Aero Contractors, and Air Peace for failing to process passengers refunds within the time frame speculated.
• Students Assault On Lecturer Demands Investigation –NANS: The National Association of Nigerian Students on Wednesday has condemned a reported incident of assault at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, where a student physically attacked a lecturer over a TikTok recording.
•  USAID Funded Boko Haram and Other Terror Groups: A Republican US congressman Scott Perry, representing Pennsylvania, made the claim during the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on Thursday that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), funded terrorist organisations, including Boko Haram.
• Partnership With Google Will Turn Nigeria To A Global Tech Hub: The Director-General, National Information Technology  Developmental Agency, on Thursday said its partnership with Google is set to transform Nigeria into a global technology hub. He added that the partnership  was focused on infrastructure development, scaling of citizens, AI innovation, cloud adoption and investment framework.

United States Signed A 25% Hike On Steel, Aluminium Import

The United States president on Monday has signed an executive order for a 25 percent increase on steel and aluminium imports into the country from the previous 10 percent without exemptions, increasing the risk of a multi-front trade war.

According to US trade data, Canada, which Trump has already threatened with tariffs, is the largest source of steel and aluminum imports to the country. Brazil, Mexico and South Korea are also major steel providers.

In his statement when signing the executive order, he said the move will help struggling industries in the United States and it’s a move to protect the country’s future.

“Our nation requires steel and aluminium to be made in America, not in foreign lands. We need to create in order to protect our country’s future.”

“As of March 12, 2025, all imports of aluminium articles and derivative aluminium articles from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, EU countries, and the UK shall be subject to the additional ad valorem tariff,”  Trump said as he signed the orders.

Elon Musk Attempt to Take Over OpeAI

Earlier this week, Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff confirmed that a group led by Twitter owner, Elon Musk has made an offer of $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI marking. The bid is backed by Musk’s AI firm X.AI alongside private equity firms Baron Capital Group and Valor Management.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who co-founded the company alongside Elon Musk in 2015 as a non-profit, dismissed the bid of Musk on his X platform formerly known as Twitter. In his response to the offer, Altman wrote, “no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” In the last funding round, the company was valued at $157 billion, cementing its status as one of the most valuable private companies globally.

Musk who is known as a co-founder of OpenAI departed in 2018 and later founded his own X.AI in early 2023 to have a foothold in the technology expected to disrupt how people live and work. He has been vocal in his opposition to OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit model under Altman’s leadership. In 2023, Musk filed two lawsuits against the company, arguing that it had strayed from its original mission of developing AI for public benefit.

Other News

• United Kingdom To Deny Undocumented Migrant Citizenship: The British government on Wednesday announced that the country is toughening immigration rules to make it almost impossible for undocumented migrants who arrive on small boats to receive citizenship.
• China Marriage Plumate By 20 Percent In 2024: According to the data published by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, the country recorded one-fifth decline in marriage last year with 6.1 million couples registering for marriage in, down from 7.7 million couples the previous year.
• An Irish Boxer Dies at 28 After Sustaining Injury In A Title Fight: An Irish Boxer, John Cooney has been announced dead by his manager after sustaining a brain Injury when defending his Celtic super-featherweight title against Welshman Nathan on the 1st of February.
• Russia Reject Swapping Occupied Territory With Ukraine: Hours after launching a barrage of drones and missiles on the Ukrainian capital, Russia dismissed the idea of exchanging occupied territory with Kyiv as part of any future peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had floated the idea of a land swap, said the latest strikes demonstrated that the Kremlin had no interest in pursuing peace.
• Man Fined $200 For Using Speakerphone In French: A man identified ad David disclosed that he was fined a fee of $200 for using the speakerphone while waiting for a train at Nantes station in the west of the country on Sunday.
• I Have No Plans To Acquire TikTok: Tesla CEO and the top advisor to the US President, Elon Musk, has said he has no interest in acquiring TikTok’s operations in the United States.