TECHNOETHICS AND THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Technology and ethics are two very germane instruments that have currently gained the position of most useful aspects of human life and activities. Since antiquity till the present age, mankind has always fabricated tools from nature to satisfy the basic and complex needs for survival and thriving. In similar vein, from the moment homo floresiensis displayed proficiency in the use of simple stone tools, to the flourishing of complex feats as genetic engineering and information technology of the latter part of the last century, norms and ethical standards have always been evaluative tools of human conduct. In our current time, the dialectic of science and technology has assumed paradoxical dimensions, raising serious questions concerning values. Technoethics thus, arose in response to the consistent clamour for a value-laden society that strikes the right balance between technological growth and human progress; to reconcile moral concerns in technological trends. Whilst the exponential growth in social media is embraced by many for its communicative and informative ingenuity, some state actors have approached the evolution with trepidations, and are wont to slam censorship for its seeming infractions. In this study, we shall x-ray the challenges posed by the censorship of the social media in Nigeria, using technoethical tools. We shall, by adopting the analytic and hermeneutic tools of research, highlight the dangers Nigeria faces by remaining under this retrograde action.