Telecom
Meta Announces New Ways to Help Teens Avoid Sextortion Scams
Having a personal intimate image shared with others can be devastating, especially for young people. It can feel even worse when someone threatens to share it if you don’t give them more photos, sexual contact or money — a crime known as sextortion.
That’s why, this Safer Internet Day, we’re announcing new efforts to help combat this kind of criminal activity. These include giving more teens control over their intimate images, helping teens — and their parents and teachers — feel better equipped against those trying to exploit them, and supporting creators and safety organizations around the world as part of a global campaign to raise awareness of sextortion.
Expanding Take It Down to More Languages and Countries
Take It Down is a program from NCMEC, supported by Meta, which is designed to help teens take back control of their intimate images and help prevent people — whether it’s scammers, ex-partners, or anyone else — from spreading them online. First launched last year in English and Spanish, Meta and NCMEC are now expanding the platform to many more countries and languages, making it accessible to millions more teens around the world.
There are several ways people can use Take It Down to find and remove intimate imagery, or help prevent people sharing them in the first place:
● Young people under 18 who are worried their content has been, or may be, posted online
● Parents or trusted adults on behalf of a young person
● Adults who are concerned about images taken of them when they were under 18
Take It Down was designed to respect young people’s privacy and data security. To start the process, people can go to TakeItDown.NCMEC.org and follow the instructions to assign a unique hash — a digital fingerprint in the form of a numerical code — to their image or video, privately and securely from their own device.
Teens only need to submit the hash, rather than the intimate image or video itself, which never leaves their device. Once the hash has been submitted to NCMEC, companies like Meta can find copies of the image, take them down and help prevent anyone who’s threatening them from posting them in the future.
“Making Take it Down available in 25 languages is a pivotal step towards safeguarding children from the horrors of online exploitation all over the world,” said John Shehan, a Senior Vice President with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “We aspire to ensure that every child, regardless of language or location, has the opportunity to reclaim their dignity and privacy by having their illicit content removed from participating platforms.”
Take It Down builds off of the success of platforms like StopNCII, which helps prevent those seeking to exploit people from sharing adults’ intimate images online.
New Resources for Teens, Parents and Teachers to Help Prevent Sextortion
These moments can be upsetting and isolating, especially for young people, who may feel too scared to ask for help. That’s why we’ve worked with Thorn, a nonprofit that builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse, to develop updated guidance for teens on how to take back control if someone is sextorting them. It also includes advice for parents and teachers on how to support their teens or students if they’re affected by these scams. The new resources can be found in our updated Sextortion hub within Meta’s Safety Center.
Kelbi Schnabel, Senior Manager at Thorn, said: “Our work with Meta to provide targeted, robust sextortion resources has helped Thorn significantly enhance our efforts in combating sextortion. Our joint initiative is already empowering parents and teens to understand the risks and take action, which is a testament to the power of collaborative action in tackling complex challenges like sextortion. The result of our collaboration underscores the importance of accessible, comprehensive resources in the digital era.”
To help make sure teens and parents everywhere know about these scammers and what they can do to avoid them, Meta is launching a global campaign, supporting safety organizations and working with incredible creators around the world to help raise awareness.
Our Work to Help Protect Teens From Sextortion On Our Apps
Today’s updates build on the work we already do to help young people know there are steps they can take if someone has shared, or is threatening to share, their intimate images. We show Safety Notices to people on Instagram when they’re messaging someone who has shown potentially scammy or suspicious behavior. These Safety Notices urge people to be cautious, encourage them to report any account that threatens to share their private images, and remind them that they can say no to anything that makes them feel uncomfortable. We also direct teens to Take It Down at relevant moments when using Facebook and Instagram, such as if they report someone for sharing their private images, for nudity, or for sexual exploitation.
And we work to help protect teens from unwanted contact in the first place. We default teens under 16 (and under 18 in certain countries) into private Instagram accounts when they sign up, which hides their follower and following lists, and we restrict adults over 19 from messaging minors who don’t follow them. Last month, we announced stricter default message settings, meaning teens under 16 (and under 18 in certain countries) won’t receive messages from anyone they don’t follow or aren’t already connected to, providing more protection against potential scammers.
MTN Nigeria, in collaboration with ONErpm and Ultima Studios, has announced Ayodeji Benson, popularly known as Ayo Benzi, as the winner of the maiden edition of the Next Afrobeats Star reality show.
L-R: Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria; Ayodeji Benson, Winner, Next Afrobeats Star Reality Show (Season 1) and Emamoke Ogoro, General Manager, Brand and Communication, MTN Nigeria, at the grand finale of the Next Afrobeats Star Reality Show (Season 1), held at the Ultima Studios, Lekki, Lagos on Saturday, December 13, 2025.
The grand finale, held on Sunday night at Ultima Studios in Lekki, Lagos, marked the climax of a nationwide talent search that began in September with over 15,000 aspiring musicians.
After weeks of auditions, mentorship, and rigorous training, five finalists – Ayo Benzi, Dave Cash, Kaeko, Somto O’Laker, and Lucky Yay – battled for the top prize in a high-energy showcase of performance and artistry.
At the end of the electrifying contest, Ayo Benzi emerged victorious, securing a ₦150 million music deal. Dave Cash was named first runner-up with ₦100 million, while Kaeko, Somto O’Laker, and Lucky Yay received ₦75 million, ₦50 million, and ₦25 million respectively.
Throughout the season, contestants were mentored by leading Afrobeats producers Sarz, Puffy Tee, P Prime, and Andre Vibez. Benzi, who was part of Puffy Tee’s team, credited the mentorship programme for sharpening his craft and stage presence.
Speaking at the event, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Nigeria, said the initiative reflects the company’s commitment to youth empowerment and cultural expression.
“The Next Afrobeats Star platform is about creating real opportunities for young Nigerians and giving their talent the structure, visibility, and support it deserves.
“Afrobeats continues to place Nigeria on the global cultural map, and MTN is proud to be enabling the next generation of artists who will take this sound even further,” she said.
She added that the finale was not just a competition but a celebration of growth and readiness for the global stage.
In his acceptance speech, Ayo Benzi described the victory as a defining moment in his career.
“A big thank you to MTN. From the audition days, the treatment MTN has given us has been amazing. God bless the brand,” he said.
The finale also featured guest performances by Afrobeats stars Iyanya and Bella Shmurda, adding glamour to the night and reinforcing the show’s connection to the wider music ecosystem.
With the successful conclusion of the season, MTN Nigeria and its partners reaffirmed their role in championing youth ambition, supporting creative industries, and shaping the future of Nigerian music through platforms that turn potential into opportunity.
T2, formerly known as 9mobile, is under investigation by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Benue State for an undisclosed incident disrupting USSD, SMS, voice, and data services across nine local government areas.
T2
The affected areas include Ado, Agatu, Gwer East, Gwer West, Konshisha, Obi, Ohimini, Okpokwu, and Otukpo, as detailed in an advisory on the NCC Major Outages Portal, which tracks significant disruptions reported by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Neither T2 nor its public relations firm, Chain Reactions, has responded to inquiries on the outage’s cause or restoration efforts as of this report.
The NCC’s continued reference to the operator as 9mobile, months after its public rebranding to T2 in August 2025, has sparked questions about whether the name change was formally notified to the regulator.
This probe aligns with NCC mandates requiring operators to disclose major outages, their impacts, and timelines for fixes, with compensation obligatory for disruptions exceeding 24 hours under the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
Industry watchers note that such incidents, often linked to fibre cuts, power failures, or infrastructure faults, underscore ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s telecoms sector, particularly amid T2’s subscriber losses post-rebrand. NCC vows transparency via its portal to hold operators accountable and protect consumers.
Telecom
NCC Unveils Draft 5-Year Spectrum Roadmap, 60 GHz License-Exempt Guidelines to Boost Broadband, Innovation
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has unveiled two pivotal regulatory draft documents aimed at reshaping Nigeria’s communications sector over the next five years and fast-tracking deployment of ultra-high-speed wireless technologies.
NCC
In a public notice dated December 19, 2025, and issued pursuant to its mandate under the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, the Commission published the Draft 5-Year Spectrum Roadmap for the Communications Sector (2025–2030) and Draft Guidelines for the Use of the 60 GHz License-Exempt Band for Multi-Gigabit Wireless Systems.
Both documents are accessible on the NCC website for stakeholder review, with the roadmap outlining strategic spectrum planning, allocation, and management to optimise utilisation, support emerging technologies like 5G and IoT, expand broadband access, and align with global best practices.
The Spectrum Roadmap emphasises four core pillars: bridging the digital divide through low-band spectrum and satellite services, attracting investments via flexible licensing models, enhancing service quality with mid-band optimisation, and fostering innovation in areas such as direct-to-device connectivity and secondary spectrum trading.
It sets ambitious targets including universal 4G coverage nationwide, 50 per cent 5G penetration in state capitals, and average broadband speeds of 100 Mbps by 2030, while addressing rising data demand through band refarming and efficient management.
Complementing this, the 60 GHz Guidelines establish a license-exempt framework for the 57–66 GHz band, enabling multi-gigabit speeds up to 10 Gbps for short-range applications like WiGig, fixed wireless access, enterprise connectivity, urban broadband, and backhaul solutions.
The rules mandate NCC type approval for equipment, site registration for outdoor use, and interference mitigation measures, while prohibiting wide-area networks to safeguard primary users.
In line with Section 58 of the NCA 2003, NCC invites comments from industry operators, equipment manufacturers, consumer groups, and the public, with submissions due by Friday, January 16, 2025, via email to [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].
The notice, signed by Mrs Nnenna Ukoha, Head of Public Affairs, stresses that stakeholder inputs will refine the frameworks to drive innovation, investment, competition, and sustainable growth in Nigeria’s telecoms ecosystem.
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