Nigeria suspends new internet platform rules pending policy

The Nigerian government has ordered a suspension of new regulations affecting internet platforms and online intermediaries to allow for the creation of a unified national policy. The directive, issued by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, instructs key regulatory agencies to defer enforcement of recently issued rules while a harmonized framework is developed.

The order followed a strategic meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). In a statement, Tijani said the existing regulatory status quo must be maintained for matters currently undergoing interagency policy harmonization under the ministry's coordination. Agencies are to defer the implementation or enforcement of any recently issued regulation, guideline, code, or directive relating to internet platforms, online intermediaries, or other crosscutting digital economy issues that are part of this ongoing process.

Minister Tijani clarified that the directive does not suspend the statutory responsibilities of the...