In response to the spread of hate speech and messages of sabotage following protests over the arrest of opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, Senegalese authorities announced on Wednesday that the use of the TikTok app has been suspended until further notice in the country.
The move came after internet access was cut off for mobile phones on Monday for similar reasons.
Moussa Boucar Thioum, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, stated in a press release that “it has become evident that TikTok is the social network of choice for individuals with malicious intentions to disseminate messages of hate and sabotage, which threaten the stability of the country.”
The arrest of Sonko on various charges, including incitement to rebellion, has sparked protest movements that resulted in the deaths of three people in the southern part of the country and in the outskirts of Dakar.
On Tuesday, two more individuals were killed in Dakar when a bus they were travelling in was attacked with a Molotov cocktail.
However, there is no clear link between the bus attack and the protests over Sonko’s detention.
Human rights organization Amnesty International condemned the internet restrictions on Monday, deeming them an “assault on freedom of the press.”
The organization called on the authorities to restore internet access.
Adding to the controversy, Sonko now faces a third set of charges, which, along with his previous convictions, could lead to a prison sentence ranging from 5 to 20 years.
Sonko, who is a presidential candidate for the scheduled February 2024 elections, had previously been sentenced to two years in prison in a sexual assault case, making him ineligible to run for office according to legal experts.
His conviction in early June sparked the most severe unrest in Senegal in years, resulting in 16 deaths according to the authorities, and around thirty deaths according to the opposition.
