Techsocietal

A social enterprise working to reduce digital inequalities & digital harm, promoting safe digital inclusion and freedoms online for the women & children.

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

With support from Luminate, @TechSocietal is opening a paid contributor opportunity to help build the ‘Africa Case Digest on Platform Accountability;’ a growing, practice-oriented resource documenting significant cases shaping platform accountability across Africa.

We are looking for experts with local knowledge, country-level insight and strong analytical skills to bring cases that deserve wider attention into the conversation.

📌 Who can apply?
African researchers, practitioners, lawyers, journalists and civil society actors with strong country-level knowledge of platform accountability. Members of TechSocietal’s Online Safety Community of Practice are especially encouraged to apply.

📌Contributor Fee: USD $700 per selected case
📌Deadline: 16 October 2026

👉 Nominate a case / Register your interest: https://t.co/Ck517YdsLh

For more information, visit our website:
https://t.co/aBO3RwfwMb

#AfricaCaseDigest
#PlatformAccountability
#AfricaOnlineSafety
#DigitalRights
#DigitalGovernance
#SafetyandTrust

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Peace begins with safety. Where people do not feel safe, peace cannot truly exist, whether online or offline.

For many Nigerians, the digital space can also be a place of harassment, cyberstalking, doxxing, privacy violations, blackmail and other forms of harm.

These experiences may happen through a screen, but their effects are real.

Peace in the digital age must mean more than the absence of conflict. It must also mean creating online spaces where people can communicate, participate and express themselves without fear of abuse or intimidation.

This International Day of Peace, let’s work towards digital spaces that are safer, more respectful and inclusive for everyone.

#InternationalDayOfPeace
#OnlineSafety
#DigitalRights
#DigitalSafety
#TechSocietal

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

In a 2025 investigation, seven new TikTok accounts presented as 13-year-olds encountered pornographic content within a few clicks even with Restricted Mode on.

Parents cannot supervise every swipe. Platforms must make the environment safe by design.

AI is also the system choosing what children see next.

#ContentModeration
#DigitalRights
#OnlineSafety
#AI
#Nigeria
#Africa
#TechPolicy
#DigitalProtection
#PlatformAccountability

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

You gave your university your NIN, address and date of birth for a student ID. But did you agree to a bank account?

NDPC is investigating UNILAG, Lotus Bank and Hackerbella over the alleged use of students’ data to open accounts.

Data collected for one purpose should not be quietly repurposed for another.

#DataPrivacy
#DigitalRights
#DataProtection
#Nigeria
#NDPC
#DigitalSafety
#HigherEducation
#TechSocietal

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Before you click. Before you apply. Check.

✔️ You see a job paying ₦800k a month.
✔️ Just "register" and enter your details.
✔️ Or an investment opportunity promising to double your money in 30 days; complete with convincing testimonials, professional-looking graphics and a very real-looking website.

✔️ Pause.
✔️ AI is making fake job offers, investment schemes, websites and messages increasingly convincing.
✔️ Before you trust that opportunity, look out for:

➡️ Too good to be true; guaranteed returns, unusually high salaries or instant employment.
➡️ "Pay before you start:’ registration, processing or training fees before you've even been hired.
➡️ They're asking for too much - passwords, PINs, banking credentials or other sensitive information they shouldn't need.
➡️ The website looks almost right; one changed letter or strange ending can take you to an impersonation site.

✔️ Before you click:

➡️ Search independently. Don't verify a company using the link they sent you. Find its official website yourself.
➡️ Check the vacancy. Is the same role actually advertised through the company's official channels?
➡️ Don't pay for a promise. Be extremely cautious when money is required to "unlock" a job or guaranteed return.
➡️ Protect your credentials. Your password, PIN and login details are not application requirements.

✔️ AI can make a scam look professional. Professional-looking doesn't mean legitimate.
✔️ Save this. Send it to someone job hunting.

#OnlineSafety
#DigitalSafety
#ScamAlert
#JobScams
#InvestmentScams
#AI
#TechSocietal

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Public Wi-Fi is convenient. It isn't always secure. You don’t always know who controls the network or who may be able to intercept the information you send through it.

If you must connect:
- Avoid banking or sensitive logins
- Turn off auto-connect.
- Use a trusted VPN where appropriate
- Think twice before sharing your location or personal details

Convenience shouldn't cost you your privacy.

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

What does meaningful protection for children look like?

At a recent panel session, “I Am Just a Baby: Children’s Privacy, Online Safety and Sundry Issues,” at PrivCon 2026, our Executive Director @Tope_Ogundipe joined the conversation on what meaningful protection of children’s data should look like in an increasingly digital world.

A key point from the discussion was simple but important: parental consent alone does not guarantee that a child is protected. Children’s privacy must be considered from the outset through privacy by default, safety by design, and data minimisation.

Children's age, evolving capacity, vulnerability and dependence on digital services require stronger safeguards and more deliberate approaches to how their information is collected, used, shared and retained.

The conversation therefore goes beyond “Did a parent consent?” It asks harder questions:

- Was the data really necessary?
- Was the service designed with the child’s safety in mind?
- What protections exist by default?
- And what responsibility should organisations bear when processing children’s data?

At TechSocietal, we believe children’s rights, privacy and safety must be built into the digital environment, not added as an afterthought.

#PrivCon2026

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Who should be accountable when harmful content is created, amplified, and allowed to spread online?

At a time when online harm is becoming more complex, accountability cannot stop at asking what users post. It must also examine the systems, features, and decisions that can enable harmful content to reach more people.

This was one of the perspectives TechSocietal brought to the Multistakeholder Dialogue on Online Safety and Platform Accountability convened by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).

During the panel session, From Evidence to Action: Strengthening Online Safety and Platform Accountability, our Legal and Policy Program Officer, Jessica Eni, highlighted the need for platforms to conduct meaningful risk assessments before introducing new features, strengthen moderation systems, and provide effective remedies when users report violations.

Jessica also raised an important concern about whether automated moderation systems adequately understand Nigerian languages, slang, and cultural contexts. When local realities are not reflected in these systems, harmful content can go undetected.

Our contribution reinforced an important point: meaningful platform accountability must reflect how online harm is experienced locally. Online safety cannot be effective when the technologies designed to keep users safe fail to understand the realities of the people they are meant to serve.

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

As schools expand their use of digital tools, child protection can no longer be treated as an offline responsibility alone.

The real question is whether schools have the right systems in place to manage the risks that come with sharing information, communicating online, and using technology every day.

A strong Digital Safeguarding Policy gives schools a practical foundation for doing this responsibly while building trust with parents and protecting students.

Our article offers practical guidance for schools looking to develop one.

Read it here: https://t.co/LiCKE0V5Ed

Need expert support? We support schools with staff training and digital safeguarding practices.

Get in touch to learn how we can support your school.

#DigitalSafeguarding
#ChildProtection
#OnlineSafety
#SchoolSafety
#DigitalWellbeing
#DataProtection
#TechSocietal
#DigitalProtection

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

The recent judgment in Abdulmalik Muhaimin Onimisi v. Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) (https://t.co/usrG0mUeUU) is more than a dispute between an individual and a financial institution. It offers an important signal about how Nigeria’s data protection framework is being interpreted and enforced.

The court’s order directing GTCO to stop unsolicited marketing to a non-customer raises an important question: Does having access to someone’s personal data automatically give an organisation the right to use it for another purpose?

This is where privacy litigation becomes relevant to policy.

Across different jurisdictions, similar disputes are testing how organisations collect, process and use personal information. Google recently agreed to a $68 million settlement over allegations involving its Google Assistant and private conversations, while Yahoo faces mass arbitration over alleged email-based tracking of millions of users. These cases involve different legal systems and remain subject to their respective proceedings, but they point to a common governance challenge: what limits should apply to the collection and use of personal data, and who is responsible for enforcing them?

For Nigeria, cases like Onimisi v. GTCO can help shape that conversation. They show how data protection rules operate in practice and where organisations, regulators and policymakers may need to strengthen accountability.

Privacy litigation is therefore not only about liability or compensation. It can also serve as a policy benchmark for whether our digital economy is adequately protecting the rights of the people whose data powers it.

At @TechSocietal , we believe data protection requires more than laws on paper. It requires meaningful enforcement, responsible data practices and institutions capable of responding to emerging forms of data use.

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Your iPhone photos could reveal more than you think.

If your Camera has permission to access your location, your photos may include hidden metadata, such as where and when they were taken.

While this information isn't visible in the picture, it can remain attached to the original file when shared through methods that preserve metadata, like email, AirDrop, or some cloud storage services.

Review your privacy settings and remove location data before sharing original photos.

Privacy isn't just about what people can see. It's also about the information your files can reveal without you noticing.

#DigitalProtection
#PrivacyMatters
#iPhoneTips
#DigitalLiteracy
#LocationPrivacy
#StaySafeOnline
#DataPrivacy
#PersonalData
#TechSocieta
#PrivacyFirst
#DigitalRights
#iPhone

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

You see an advert from a brand you know. It is offering an opportunity that could genuinely help.

Would you stop to verify it?

A recent PREMIUM TIMES investigation into fraudulent TikTok ads targeting Nigerians shows why this matters. Some of the ads reportedly used AI-generated content and impersonated familiar brands and public figures.

Online scams are becoming better at creating the appearance of legitimacy. A familiar logo, voice or professional-looking video is not enough to establish that something is genuine.

Before acting on an opportunity you find online:

• Check the organisation's official channels.
• Verify links and contact details independently.
• Be cautious about requests for money or sensitive information.
• Don't assume that familiar faces, voices or branding mean an opportunity is legitimate.

Digital safety is not only about spotting what looks suspicious. It is also about knowing how to verify what looks credible.

Before you act, ask: What evidence do I have that this is real?

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Experiencing sextortion or image-based sexual abuse?

You can report your case on MyLawbrella - https://t.co/0K8bFdh8vK

Don’t be silent. Report it. Get support.

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Happy Birthday @Tope_Ogundipe ,

Thank you for your exemplary leadership, guidance, and unwavering commitment to the work we do.

We celebrate and appreciate you today and always.

Cheers to many more fulfilling years ahead.

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

One phone call. ₦850,000 gone.

We call it “normal” until it happens to us.

Join us on a campaign to help Nigerians be more careful.

Follow @TechSocietal .

#MyDataMyStory

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

When global moderation overlooks local realities, online safety becomes harder to achieve.

Content moderation systems that lack local knowledge can miss important linguistic, cultural, and social nuances that shape how content is understood and moderated. As more Nigerians rely on digital platforms for information and civic participation, these gaps can have real-world consequences.

In our blog, Global Platform, Local Harm: When Moderation Ignores Nigeria, we examine why effective moderation must reflect the realities of the communities it serves.

Read here: https://t.co/Gn4D7JhanE

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

What does it take to build a survivor-centred response to technology-facilitated gender-based violence?

This important question was at the heart of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) Coordination Meeting and GBV Case Conferencing for Civil Society Organisations, where Techsocietal contributed technical expertise to strengthen stakeholders' understanding of Technology-Facilitated Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (TFSGBV).

During the session, Jessica Eni, our Legal and Policy Program Officer, explored emerging TFSGBV trends in Nigeria, practical survivor-centred response strategies, and the critical role of civil society in strengthening prevention, accountability, and access to justice. Participants also examined opportunities to improve institutional coordination and build more effective responses to technology-enabled abuse.

Responding to TFSGBV requires more than awareness—it requires institutions equipped with the knowledge, skills, and partnerships to respond effectively. Conversations like this are an important step towards that goal.

#TechSocietal
#MyLawbrella
#TFSGBV
#OnlineSafety
#DigitalRights
#EndingOGBV
#DigitalSafety
#CivilSociety
#LagosDSVA

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Not everything belongs online.

Cybercriminals don't always hack their way in—they often start with information people willingly share.

Think twice before posting:
📍 Your home address or live location
🏢 Your workplace or daily routine
👨‍👩‍👧 Your children's school or location
🪪 IDs or important documents
✈️ Travel plans before you leave
🔐 Answers to security questions
💳 Sensitive financial information

Before you post, ask yourself:
Could this information be used to identify, locate, impersonate, or target me?

Protect your privacy. Think before you post.

[Techsocietal @TechSocietal]

Women in public life increasingly face online threats that can affect not only their safety but also their ability to participate confidently in public discourse. Strengthening their digital security with the knowledge, tools, and strategies to respond effectively has therefore become more important than ever.

This was the focus of the Digital Security & Crisis Response Training for Women in Public Life, held on July 23 and 24, 2026, in partnership with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). The event equipped female journalists with practical skills, tools, and response strategies to navigate digital threats, protect their professional identities, and respond effectively to digital threats.

We are grateful to the @NgNewsAgency for the opportunity to collaborate on this important initiative. While the training has come to an end, the work of building safer digital spaces for women continues.