Nigeria: economic impact of Twitter ban June 2021

The decision of the Nigerian government to ban Twitter might have severe economic costs. Per day, the ban is estimated to have an impact of around six million U.S. dollars. Twitter was been suspended in Nigeria on June 5, 2021. Apparently, the reason behind this ban was the social media platform's decision to delete a tweet by president Muhammadu Buhari just some days before being classified by Twitter as "abusive behavior". The ban ended 222 days later, in January 2022, after the social media company agreed on establishing a legal entity in Nigeria and paying taxes in the country, among other conditions. Twitter is among Nigeria's most popular social media.

Estimated economic impact of Twitter ban in Nigeria imposed on June 5, 2021, by number of days (in 1,000 U.S. dollars)

Characteristic	Cost in thousand U.S. dollars
1 day	6,014
2 days	12,029
3 days	18,043
4 days	24,058
5 days	30,072
6 days	36,086
7 days	42,101
8 days	48,115
9 days	54,130
10 days	60,144

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Release date

June 2021

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Region

Nigeria

Survey time period

June 14, 2021

Supplementary notes

Figures have been rounded.

The source adds the following information:

- Using Brookings Institution method which relies on development indicators;
- Using approximated digital economy extent of 0.05;
- Using the classic Free Digital App GDP Impact technique to assess a partial internet shutdown where one online platform is disrupted;
- The tool estimates the economic impact of a single hypothetical internet disruption of the specified type, location and duration. Internet shutdowns and blackouts which impact entire populations are rare and typically last on the order of a few hours.

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