Days after restricting the use of mobile internet amid opposition protests, Senegal has stopped access to the social media app TikTok until further notice, the country’s minister of communications announced on Wednesday.
“The minister… informs the public that it has been observed that the TikTok application is the social network favored by people with bad intentions to spread hateful and subversive messages threatening the stability of the country,” the minister’s statement said.
Using a similar justification, the West African nation has since Monday blocked access to internet services.
After Ousmane Sonko, the head of the opposition, was accused of conspiring to commit crimes, preparing an uprising, and other offences, limitations were put in place.
Throughout the year, Senegal has experienced periodic violent protests as opposition supporters claim President Macky Sall has brought charges against Sonko in an effort to remove him from the running for the next election.
