With the rapid technological advancement globally, the notion of Media Ethics has gained an increasing level of attention and it has become a subject of national and international discourse.
The bulk of the conceptualization of Media Ethics suggests that it entails the promotion and defense of values such as universal respect for life and the rule of law.
It is therefore my privileged preoccupation to espouse the operation of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2015 and the need for journalists to be vigilant to the ethical standard of the profession.
Cybercrimes can be defined as criminal actions committed using information communication technology such as a computer or any other electronic means.
It is the fraudulent, dishonest and improper use of communication technology to misrepresent facts in the hopes of gaining an advantage over other innocent or unsuspecting users.
The term cybercrime itself is a generic name used for describing crimes committed through the use of a computer or related technological devices.
Cybercrimes are quite sadly and regretfully deeply rooted in the Nigerian technological space. It is not only a source of serious concern to the technological and economic space in Nigeria but a harbinger of disrepute to the image of the country around the world.
In February 2015, an Inter-Ministerial Committee managed by the office of the National Security Adviser produced a National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy document which was subsequently endorsed by the Nigerian Government.
The policy was developed based on the understanding that threats to information and communication technology are a danger to Nigeria’s national security, affecting the country’s “economic, political, and social fabric.”
The explanatory note of the resultant Act, the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2015, gives an insight into the purpose of its enactment.
The Act provides an effective, unified and comprehensive legal, regulatory and institutional framework for Nigeria’s prohibition, prevention, detection, prosecution and punishment of cybercrimes.
The Act also ensures the protection of critical national information infrastructure and promotes cybersecurity and the protection of computer systems and networks, electronic communications, data and computer programs, intellectual property and privacy rights
It is therefore crucial to submit and caution that the imperative of enacting the Cybercrime Act was not to regulate the activities of journalists.
Journalism is a renowned and decent profession with high ethical standards. It is one of the noblest and oldest since the days of Rome circa 59 Before Christ.
However, no one who indulges in the activities criminalised by the Cybercrime act can be rightly referred to as a journalist.
That said, it is sad to note that Government and the political class in Nigeria have deliberately manipulated the provisions of the Cybercrime Act to police journalists and suppress freedom of expression and thoughts while abandoning the primary objective of the law.
The media exercises a strong influence on the perception and understanding of the world by the public. It acts as a bridge between the state and people, and must therefore be allowed adequate freedom to flourish.
Free media is crucial to a true democracy. The broad set of rationales for freedom of expression is that free expression is a means to an end as it is necessary for achieving important social goals which include the search for truth in the marketplace of ideas and testing the ‘truth’ of any single idea.
Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq. is a Legal Practitioner and Managing Partner at Law Corridor.
