In June, French President Emmanuel Macron blamed Snapchat and TikTok for spreading footage of police fatally shooting a teenager and inflaming protests. US lawmakers have faulted platforms including Twitter and Parler for contributing to the Jan 6, 2021, Capitol riots. And earlier this week – in one of the more extreme responses by a government yet – Senegal imposed a temporary ban on TikTok on all wireless phone networks. And it didn’t stop there.
In many African nations, smartphones are the only access to the Internet that some people have. And social media apps – TikTok in particular as it’s overtaking Twitter and Facebook in popularity – have become a lifeline for news and information. Senegal is no exception. There, people rely on Internet access on their phones to pay for essential services and, especially now, to stay informed of unrest that’s intensifying ahead of a Feb.
In Diop’s view, Senegalese authorities are more concerned about the world seeing people rise up against the government than they are about keeping people safe."A woman was filming from her balcony, and when the police noticed her, they fired teargas at her,’’ he said."It’s clear they don’t like when people film.’’
Last year, government-enforced internet blackouts led to US$261mil in economic losses across sub-Saharan Africa, which includes Senegal, affecting 132.2 million Internet users in the region, according to Top10VPN, a London-based review site that tracks industry data. The Senegalese government says the cost of a shutdown is minimal compared with the human toll from violent protests.