DAR ES SALAAM, June 5 (NNN-KBC) — Tanzania said it had blocked access to social media platform X over the presence of pornographic content, two weeks after government-linked accounts were hacked.
X announced last year that it would no longer block “consensually produced and distributed” adult content.
Tanzania’s Minister of Information Jerry Silaa told a local TV station this “contradicts our regulations”.
He said X now has “pornography and homosexuality, which are all contrary to our country’s laws, culture, customs, and traditions.”
Tanzania blocked access to X on May 20, which appeared to coincide with the hacking of a police account which was used to falsely announce the death of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The YouTube account of the country’s tax authority was also inflitrated with pornographic content on the same day.
The shutdown comes amid criticisms of a severe crackdown on the opposition ahead of elections in October.
Social media shutdowns have been reported during past election periods.
Silaa said Tanzania was monitoring content on other online platforms deemed to be in breach of the country’s laws.
“If you notice in any social media, not necessarily X, that you search for a content on YouTube or other networks and it’s unavailable, then know that the government is working to protect consumers,” he said. — NNN-KBC
