Uganda’s Minister of General Labour and Social Development, Frank Tumwebaze has criticised Tech Giant Facebook for blocking accounts for NRM leaning supporters and officials.
Last weekend, Facebook blocked over 50 accounts on accusing them of manipulating debate online ahead of the Thursday January presidential and parliamentary polls.
“@ITUSecGen one of the threats we must speak against in our digital ecosystem is this abuse of communication platforms by tech giants. Connectivity shdn’t be a right to enjoy at the mercy of Tech giants.
“@Facebook shd unblock selectively targeted #Ugandan accounts ASAP!” Tumwebaze tweeted.
Explaining the action, Facebook’s Africa chief said they had blocked the accounts last weekend because the tech giant discovered manipulation of debate.
“This month, we removed a network of accounts and pages in Uganda that engaged in CIB (Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour) to target public debate ahead of the election,” Facebook’s head of communication for sub-Saharan Africa, Kezia Anim-Addo, said in an email.
It waits to be seen whether Facebook will listen to Tumwebaze’s appeal.