The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has accused Facebook (Meta) and X (formerly Twitter) of eroding citizens’ digital rights through data misuse, manipulation, and monopolistic control.
Executive Director of CITAD, Malam Y.Z. Ya’u, raised the alarm in Kano on Thursday while delivering a lecture at the Kano State Polytechnic titled “Monopolies to Fediverse: A Peep into an Alternative Social Media Space.”
Ya’u said the dominance of the two tech giants has entrenched centralised control, allowing data exploitation, political interference, and suppression of online voices.
He alleged that the platforms harvest users’ data without consent, selling it to advertisers, political actors, and AI developers in violation of data protection rules.
The rights advocate also accused the companies of promoting discriminatory content, citing a Sada Social Center for Digital Rights report which documented over 1,200 violations against Palestinians in June 2025.
As an alternative, Ya’u unveiled “dComms,” a decentralised platform being developed by CITAD, modelled on the Fediverse to encourage community ownership and local hosting of social media spaces.