The War Against the 4th Estate: Use of Spyware Against Journalists In Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria today, most newsrooms are tightening their digital security due of concerns that new spy technologies have exposed journalists to threats of surveillance and digital harassment. The evolution of digital communication technology seems to have become a nightmare for most journalists within developed nations. These concerns affecting journalists seem to more often than not, originate from government coffers. This study aims to expose the intricacies surrounding the use of spyware technology to violate the professional and private lives of journalists in Nigeria and how the same hinders the free flow of information and press freedom. The research takes its theoretical leaning from the Communication Privacy Management Theory (CPM), a communication theory that focuses on why and how people manage private disclosures. The development of high-tech spyware poses a threat and is indeed an existential crisis for journalism and the future of press freedom around the world. The research recommends that the Nigerian National Assembly should urgently, initiate a legislation that guarantees the use of spyware technology in line with international human rights standards. Also, the national assembly should create legislation that ensures the federal government stops the abuse of “national security” to legitimize political surveillance. Journalists, especially, in Nigeria, should collectively upgrade their digital devices by using State-of-The-Art software which encrypts their information in order to avert spyware attacks.