Technology
Meta Reaffirms Commitment to Safer, Positive Digital Experiences for Teens
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has said it will not rest on its laurels in promoting safer and more positive digital experiences for teens.
The firm gave this assurance at the Nigeria Youth Safety Summit, which it co-hosted with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
This event brought together government officials, civil society organisations, parents, educators, creators and youth leaders to discuss digital wellbeing priorities, strengthen partnerships, and promote safer online experiences.
Meta used the opportunity to showcase its ongoing investments in youth safety through built-in protections, parental supervision tools, and digital literacy resources designed to help teens navigate the digital world safely and confidently.
At the centre of Meta’s youth safety efforts are Teen Accounts, a reimagined experience across Meta’s apps designed specifically for teenagers.
Teen Accounts include built-in protections that address parents’ concerns by promoting age-appropriate experiences, limiting unwanted contact, and encouraging healthier digital habits.
Teen Accounts are turned on automatically for all teens, with built-in protections including private accounts, the strictest messaging settings, sensitive content restrictions, limited interactions (tagging/mentions only from people they follow), time limit reminders after 60 minutes each day, and sleep mode between 10 pm and 7 am. Teens under 16 need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.
“At Meta, our goal is to provide teens with safe, age-appropriate online experiences, and events like the Nigeria Youth Safety Summit reflect our commitment to promoting safer and more positive digital experiences for teens.
“With products such as Teen Accounts, Meta is putting the right protections in place so teens can explore their interests and express their creativity in a safe, age-appropriate space.
“We will continue to build the safety features and tools that families need to support young people online,” the Head of Safety Police for EMEA at Meta, Sylvia Musalagani, stated.
“Child online safety is one of our central pillars, and we are steadfast in our mandate to safeguard the Nigerian child from technology-enabled violence. Children cannot navigate the complexities of the online world without informed adults guiding them because safety begins with the parents.
“Safety is a shared tripartite responsibility between parents, technological industries, and government. That is the fundamental premise of today’s summit, a hands-on walk-through of parental supervision tools and Teen Accounts.
“We appreciate Meta for the collaboration and for creating a platform for these important conversations,” the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Ms Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said.
Also commenting, the Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, said, “We believe that keeping young people safe online is a shared responsibility. Government, technology companies, schools, parents, social organisations, community groups, and young people themselves all have a role to play. We encourage Meta to make the tools, guides, and learning materials from this initiative more widely available so that young people across Nigeria can continue to benefit from this laudable summit.”
It was learned that through keynote presentations, the Parents Learn & Brunch session held in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and panel discussions featuring parent creators and parents, participants explored practical approaches to supporting safer online engagement.
The summit also reinforced the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in advancing digital wellbeing and online safety for young people.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Aminu Maida, has reemphasised the need to protect the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure, especially fibre networks, noting that damage to fibre networks carries significant economic consequences.
Speaking virtually at the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Critical Conversation Forum on Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) in Lagos recently, he described FTTH as a critical enabler of Nigeria’s digital future.
“FTTH is uniquely positioned to meet Nigerians' next phase of data demand. The quality of our broadband will increasingly shape the competitiveness of our businesses, the growth of our digital industry and the opportunities available to our citizens,” the NCC chief stated.
“We must uphold deployment standards. Nigeria needs fibre that is properly installed, properly documented, and properly protected,” Mr Maida further said at the event themed Fibre to the Home in Nigeria: Addressing Challenges, Strengthening Standards and Ensuring Sustainable Deployment.
During a panel discussion titled Policy, Governance and Regulatory Alignment, the Deputy Director of Strategic Business Initiatives at ipNX, Mr Segun Okuneye, highlighted the need for stronger collaboration across the telecommunications ecosystem to unlock the full potential of fibre broadband in Nigeria.
According to him, sustainable fibre deployment extends beyond technology and investment to include policy consistency, stakeholder alignment, infrastructure protection, and shared responsibility.
“Achieving universal fibre connectivity requires more than deploying infrastructure; it requires sustained collaboration between operators, regulators, government agencies and host communities.
“When policies are aligned, deployment standards are consistently enforced, and critical infrastructure is protected, we create an environment where investment thrives and more Nigerians can enjoy reliable, high-speed broadband.
“At ipNX, we remain committed to working with all stakeholders to build resilient digital infrastructure that will support Nigeria’s economic growth for generations to come.”
Earlier in his welcome address, ATCON President, Mr Tony Emoekpere, underscored the strategic importance of FTTH in achieving the country’s broadband penetration targets while calling for greater public awareness around protecting communications infrastructure.
“This forum is critical because Fibre-to-the-Home is the technology that will enable the country to achieve full broadband penetration. We all depend on communication infrastructure, and it must be protected,” he declared.
Drawing a comparison with power infrastructure in the country, he added, “If somebody comes to your neighbourhood to tamper with your transformer or power cables, everybody will come out. The same thing needs to apply for communications infrastructure. When we see people damaging fibre cables, we should raise an alarm.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Thursday, July 23, 2026, provided an opportunity for financial services professionals to converge on Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, to brainstorm on ways to meet the rising customers’ expectations.
The platform used for this purpose was Core by Interswitch. It is part of the company’s broader commitment to strengthening Africa’s digital payments ecosystem by fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing and operational excellence across the financial services value chain.
At the event, participants, numbering over 400, also highlighted the growing importance of operational excellence in sustaining resilient payment infrastructure.
As digital financial services continue to expand across Africa, closer collaboration among financial institutions, fintechs and payment service providers will be essential to improving responsiveness, resolving operational challenges more effectively and delivering consistently reliable customer experiences.
The Executive Vice President for Operations and Technology at Interswitch, Mr Babafemi Ogungbamila, said the forum reflects the company’s belief that exceptional customer experiences are built not only on innovative technology but also on the expertise, collaboration and commitment of the professionals who keep payment systems running every day.
“Every successful digital transaction is powered by professionals whose work often goes unseen but is fundamental to building trust in digital payments. Core by Interswitch was created to recognise their contribution, strengthen collaboration across the industry and create opportunities for shared learning that ultimately benefit financial institutions and the customers they serve.
“As digital payments continue to evolve, investing in the people and processes that power the technology is just as important as investing in the technology itself,” Mr Ogungbamila said.
Beyond recognising the professionals whose work often goes unnoticed, the programme underscored the value of creating stronger connections across the payments ecosystem.
By creating a dedicated platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and professional development, Core by Interswitch aims to build a more connected community of payments operations professionals equipped to respond to the evolving demands of the digital economy.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
WhatsApp has been updated with a web calling feature, allowing users to now make and receive audio and video calls, both one-on-one and group, directly from WhatsApp Web.
A notice from the Meta-owned messaging platform disclosed that this feature works without the need to download any app.
It was disclosed that this update was made to WhatsApp to make it easier for users to make calls wherever they are and on whatever device, phone or laptop.
Users will have access to features available on their other devices, including screen sharing, reactions, and a dedicated Calls tab with full call history and favourites, all from their browsers.
WhatsApp noted that calls from this feature are end-to-end encrypted, with no time limits and at no cost, as it is the same private experience they expect from the platform.
WhatsApp has also been embedded with easy call transfer, enabling the movement of an active group call from one device to another without hanging up. Users can seamlessly transfer calls to WhatsApp Web or Desktop when they arrive home to collaborate on a larger screen – or vice versa.
The platform further said it now has QuickHD, which allows for an improved video experience at the beginning of a call. With QuickHD, users can now enjoy high-definition video immediately in the very first few seconds of the call.
In addition, it has launched noise suppression to remove the background noise around callers so their voices come through clearly to the person on the other end, even in loud or busy environments. This can be managed at any time in in-call settings.
WhatsApp said these features are rolling out gradually and will be available to everyone soon, expressing its desire to make WhatsApp calling simpler to use.
