'Social media comes under scrutiny in South African elections’ 25 May 2024

South Africa’s upcoming election on May 29, is seeing tech companies coming under a spotlight for refusing to share detailed plans to prevent use of social media to incite the public. That and fears over fake news are a concern among some stakeholders argue freely available platforms such as Tiktok, Facebook and X could fuel the problem. In 2021, a wave of violence swept through South Africa, resulting in over 300 deaths following a top court's decision to imprison former president Jacob Zuma for contempt of court. The situation escalated when social media platforms were found to have played a significant role in fueling the violence by amplifying inciting posts, as confirmed by South Africa’s Human Rights Commission in January 2024.

Now as the country prepares for the upcoming election concerns about potential political violence loom large. However, tech giants such as Meta (owners of Facebook, Instagram and Threads), TikTok, and Google refuse to share detailed election plans and engage with civil society, claiming that they were not bound by local laws…The refusal by tech platforms to share their election plan is seen as undermining democracy in South Africa, as activists and experts behind the Global Coalition for Tech Justice voiced their concerns about the platforms' lack of cooperation despite the looming threat of political violence. Sherylle Dass, Regional Director of the Legal Resources Centre, highlighted the risks associated with online campaigns that challenge the legitimacy of court decisions, drawing parallels to the events that led to violent riots in July 2021.

…Despite two reminders, by April no acknowledgement had been received from TikTok or X (formerly Twitter). Meta provided a vague response to revert in due course, but six weeks later had not done so. Google did agree to a meeting, although the ensuing discussion saw the company provide only generic responses rather than specific cooperation," reads the SANEF statement released in April. In addition, the refusal by social media companies to provide information on their management of the South African information ecosystem has been described as "incredibly problematic." Bulanda Nkhowani, Campaigns and Partnerships Manager for Africa at Digital Action, and convenor of the Global Coalition for Tech Justice said this could in fact be a potential threat to democratic processes.