The findings also show strong support for regulation, with 83.4% backing restrictions on children’s access to social media.

The survey results were presented in Lagos during a roundtable on child online safety, organised in collaboration with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

With 585 Nigerians taking part in the consultation, the survey examined risks, enforcement options and possible legal frameworks.

Among the group of respondents, 64.8% want outright regulation, while 18.6% prefer regulation tied to a different minimum age threshold.

Only 16.6% opposed regulation, while 51% said education and digital literacy should be prioritised instead, and 40% pointed to parental supervision tools as a better precaution.

Age preference also split responses, with 36.8% saying 16 years should be the minimum age for access, closely aligning with Australia’s recent approach. Another 27.7% preferred 17 years. A smaller share, 13%, supported the global platform standard for 13 years.

Harmful content emerged as the most reported risk, cited by 90.9% of respondents. Digital addiction followed at 83.6%, while 82.4% pointed to online grooming as a major threat.

The survey also found that 74.5% believe children and parents do not fully understand the legal consequences of cyber offences. Almost all respondents, 97.6%, supported a duty-of-care approach requiring platforms to take proactive steps against harm.

Communications Minister Bosun Tijani said the consultation reveals the pace of change in the digital space and the need for policy to keep up.

He said, “The debate should focus on implementing age restrictions effectively rather than questioning the need for such safeguards.

“Nigeria can deploy digital identity infrastructure and existing platform verification systems to strengthen enforcement of age-based social media regulations.

“The fact that some people may bypass regulations is not a reason for safeguards not to exist.”

Tijani added that social media still offers opportunities for learning and innovation, but children must remain protected from exploitation, harmful content and other risks.

He also said enforcement would require cooperation across government, parents, schools and technology platforms.

NDPC National Commissioner, Dr Vincent Olatunji, also spoke about the risks facing children online. He pointed to cyberbullying, cyberstalking, exposure to harmful content and mental health pressures as key issues.

He also mentioned that access to the internet is highly important for education and development, but protection measures must sit alongside that access. Olatunji described child online safety as a shared responsibility across government agencies, families, schools and platform operators.

The discussion encapsulates a global shift in children’s access to social media. Several countries have already introduced, or are moving towards, better age-based management.

Australia introduced a ban on social media access for children under 16 in December 2025, requiring platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to restrict underage users. Indonesia has also announced plans for a similar restriction.

In Europe, Denmark is preparing to ban social media for children under 15. The Danish government secured backing from both coalition and opposition parties in November 2025. France passed a bill in January 2026 banning social media use for children under 15, with President Emmanuel Macron supporting the measure.

These developments show a policy trend where governments treat child online safety as a public concern that extends beyond regulation of content alone. In several cases, it now sits alongside debates on health, education and digital identity systems.

In Nigeria, the proposed direction indicates a combination of age restrictions and verification systems rather than a single enforcement model. Officials have pointed to digital identity infrastructure and platform-level verification tools as possible mechanisms.

The survey indicates strong public appetite for intervention, especially given the level of concern about exposure to harmful content, addiction and grooming risks. At the same time, a smaller but notable group continues to argue for education and parental oversight rather than formal restrictions.

The government says no final decision has been made, insisting that any policy will follow nationwide consultation before implementation.

Seeking to enhance trust, adoption and ensure money circulates within the country rather than being lost to foreign platforms, the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) confirmed it has deployed DNSSEC across the .ng domain, meaning the country’s internet addresses can now be verified and protected against cyber attacks.

At the unveiling, Adesola Akinsanya, NiRA president, said the move is meant to stop attackers from redirecting users to fake websites, a growing risk as more services move online.

“The successful deployment and unveiling of DNSSEC on the ng domain represents a defining moment for Nigeria’s internet ecosystem,” the President said.

Described as a long-awaited fix to a weak point in Nigeria’s digital system, DNSSEC provides all round protection. The internet already translates website names into numerical addresses, but it was built on trust. However, that trust can be exploited.

DNSSEC adds a verification layer, confirming that when a user types a .ng website, they are reaching the real destination, not a fake one set up by criminals.

If attackers control a domain’s routing, they can redirect traffic without hacking the website itself. DNSSEC is meant to block that route.

“This achievement did not happen overnight. It is as a result of years of commitment, collaboration and shared vision,” Adebiyi Oladipo, vice chair, ICANN ccNSO said.

The DNSSEC has now been fully signed and is in a monitoring phase, with a gradual rollout planned for registrars and domain owners.

The upgrade puts Nigeria in line with global standards and strengthens trust in local digital services.

Adoption, the bigger problem

The conversation went beyond technology to the issue of Nigerians not using .ng enough. Awareness is low, hence, the media is key to changing that.

Billions still leaving the country

Beyond perception, the economic argument cannot be ignored. NiRA said Nigeria loses billions every year to foreign domain registration and hosting services, as businesses choose .com and host their platforms abroad.

That money, they argued, should stay in the country, especially as local data centres now have the capacity to handle large-scale hosting.

NiRA also confirmed plans to work with organisations like the Corporate Affairs Commission to tie business registration more closely to domain ownership.

What comes next

NiRA is now pushing for adoption, with banks, telecom firms, government agencies and e-commerce platforms being asked to enable DNSSEC and move fully into the .ng space.

“This unveiling is not just about technology; it is about building trust in Nigeria’s digital future,” Oluwaseyi Onasanya, the COO said.

The organisation, which collaborates with platforms such as Meta (Facebook, Instagram and Threads), TikTok and YouTube, said its monitoring teams observed a rapid spread of antisemitic narratives across several platforms, particularly on X.

Tracking content in English, Arabic and Farsi, CyberWell reported that several hostile narratives resurfaced shortly after the conflict began.

These included posts glorifying violence against Jews, celebrating attacks on Israeli civilians and amplifying conspiracy theories targeting Jewish communities.

According to CyberWell, some of the same hashtags, chants and digital content previously flagged during the Israel–IRGC conflict in June 2025 have re-emerged online.

Among them is the chant “Khaybar, Khaybar, ya Yahud,” which references the 7th-century Battle of Khaybar and is widely used as a call for violence against Jews. A variation of the chant targeting Zionists also began circulating again.

The nonprofit also identified renewed circulation of an AI-generated song titled “Boom Boom Tel Aviv,” including new versions celebrating missile strikes.

Other narratives included the conspiracy theory known as “ZOG” (Zionist Occupied Government), which falsely claims that Israel controls the U.S. government, as well as dehumanising language targeting Jews and Israelis.

Holocaust-justification rhetoric also appeared to spike during the escalation. CyberWell recorded a significant increase in posts using the phrase “Hitler was right,” a slogan widely condemned as explicit Holocaust glorification.

“In moments of geopolitical escalation, we consistently see antisemitism surge online,” said CyberWell founder and CEO Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor.

She noted that many of the same narratives flagged during the June 2025 conflict resurfaced again following the latest escalation.

“Our concern about the spread of these trends online is tied to the heightened security alerts Jewish communities around the world are experiencing,” she said. “Antisemitism is a global problem, and the amplification of Jew-hatred online plays a major role in that.”

CyberWell’s preliminary data shows a dramatic spike in posts containing the chant referencing Khaybar. In the six months before the war, the phrase appeared in roughly 53 posts per day.

Since Feb. 28, that figure has surged to about 950 posts daily, an increase of more than 1,700% with a peak of 1,461 posts on the first day of the conflict.

Holocaust-justification rhetoric followed a similar pattern. Posts containing the phrase “Hitler was right” averaged around 1,355 per day during the six months prior to the war.

On the day the conflict began, the number rose to 2,245 posts and climbed to a peak of 5,467 posts on March 1, a 304% increase from the previous baseline.

Arabic-language variations of the phrase also increased, jumping from an average of about two posts per day to 71 posts on the first day of the conflict.

CyberWell said that while some social media platforms appeared to activate emergency moderation measures during the escalation, responses varied widely across the digital ecosystem.

The organisation noted that antisemitic hashtags and narratives were most consistently visible on X during the crisis. In one example cited by the group, the phrase “Hitler was right” remained searchable and visible as a hashtag on the platform.

“According to X’s own policies, there is no reason why a phrase explicitly celebrating the Holocaust should remain easily searchable or widely circulated,” Cohen Montemayor said.

She added that the company’s stated principle of “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach” should prevent such content from being amplified, particularly during periods of heightened geopolitical tension.

“Responding to fast-moving spikes in online antisemitism during geopolitical crises requires more than reactive moderation,” she said.

“Platforms must strengthen automated detection systems, invest in regionally knowledgeable human moderators, review training data and maintain structured collaboration with expert civil society partners.”

CyberWell is an independent technology-driven nonprofit focused on combating the spread of antisemitism online.

Its AI-powered systems monitor social media platforms in English and Arabic for posts promoting antisemitism, Holocaust denial or violence against Jews, based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.

The organisation’s analysts review and report such content to platform moderators while cataloguing verified posts in an open database designed to track antisemitic content on social media.

Through partnerships, research and real-time alerts, CyberWell works with social media companies and digital service providers to help them enforce platform policies and respond more quickly to online hate speech.