Regulation and Oversight of Social Media in Senegal: AfricTivistes warns against any abuse of power
On 3 February, at a meeting of the Senegalese Council of Ministers, President Macky Sall asked the government to establish “a regulatory and supervisory framework specifically for social media”.
Since 2008, Senegal has had a comprehensive legal framework for the information society. These laws and regulations are based on the principle of technological neutrality, covering all technologies, including the “social media” that the Senegalese government now wants to regulate.
Given the laws already in place, it is reasonable to ask what the government actually intends to regulate, since freedom of expression is a fundamental right that should not be called into question by technology.
Establishing a framework to regulate social media outside the judicial system could endanger democracy and freedom of expression.
Courts have already issued rulings under the law in force. As things stand, our laws govern freedom of expression and press offences; they also recognise “social media” as a means of public communication. In light of this, Senegal’s cyberspace is not a lawless space.
It should also be recalled that users of information technologies, particularly social media, have the right to privacy, including the confidentiality of correspondence guaranteed by Article 13 of Senegal’s Constitution.
On several occasions, President Macky Sall has suggested that social media bother him, even describing some users as “idle drifters”. In 2018, the National Assembly also passed a highly controversial law on the monitoring of electronic communications over the internet. Some of its provisions were considered restrictive of fundamental freedoms and anti-democratic.
AfricTivistes wishes to warn against any attempt to use this “regulatory and supervisory framework for social media” to undermine fundamental freedoms. It reminds the authorities of the need to clarify the framework’s purpose and consult stakeholders across the ecosystem, particularly civil society organisations specialising in personal data and cybersecurity.
Through this statement, AfricTivistes expresses its deep concern and apprehension about the President’s announcement at the Council of Ministers, especially as this kind of monitoring and control of social media could open the door to all manner of abuses.
AfricTivistes therefore recommends an approach that puts respect for citizens’ rights at the heart of the framework.
AfricTivistes believes it would be more appropriate to promote digital literacy among the public, particularly through decentralised institutions such as vocational and technical training centres (CFPT), and to introduce digital education modules into school curricula for younger students.
AfricTivistes calls on the authorities to support existing institutions, particularly ADIE and CPD, in raising public awareness about the use of social media and the laws governing cyberspace.
Finally, AfricTivistes calls on the Senegalese government to focus above all on updating the law on personal data protection.
