Tanzania has decided to block access to social media platform X because it allows pornographic content to be shared, the information minister has said.

Tanzanians have reported that access to X has been restricted in the last two weeks, after political tensions rose and the police account was hacked, but there has not yet been a total shutdown of the platform.

Tanzania’s present government has been accused of becoming increasingly repressive as it campaigns to remain in office.

In a post, the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) said that X, then known as Twitter, faced a similar shutdown in the run-up to the 2020 election, and the “recurrence” of restrictions raised “serious concerns about the openness of digital space” in Tanzania.

It said it was troubling that while the minister confirmed the government’s role in blocking X, government officials and public institutions continued to use the platform.

In an interview, the information minister linked the ban to X’s announcement last year, which stated that it would no longer block “consensually produced and distributed” adult content.

Taiwan National Day Celebration

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