New push in parliarment to regulate social media

Popular Democratic Movement parliamentarian Vipua Muharukua has tabled a motion to regulate social media.

Muharukua on Wednesday proposed a motion in the National Assembly to establish a comprehensive social media regulatory framework for Namibia.

“While these platforms have provided a platform for sharing ideas, facilitating free expression and connecting communities, they have also raised concerns regarding the misuse of personal data, the spread of hate speech, misinformation and cyberbullying,” he said.

Four months ago, information and communication technology minister Peya Mushelenga suggested that the need for proper guidelines and regulations in using social media for government communication is crucial for a healthy democracy.

Muharukua said the regulatory framework should address and combat hate speech, misinformation and cyberbullying.

“The framework should require social media platforms to adopt robust content moderation policies, reinforced by transparent reporting mechanisms and swift response to reported cases,” he told the National Assembly.

Muharukua said the act has the potential to allow citizens to access information about social media platforms’ policies, procedures and content moderation practice.

“By incorporating the principles of the Access to Information Act within the social media regulatory framework, we can ensure that citizens have access to critical information and a voice in shaping social media policies,” he said.

He further argued that the establishment of a comprehensive social media regulatory framework is vital for Namibia in this digital age.

“For it will be a balance between freedom of expression and rights to privacy, leveraging the Access to Information Act, and implementing mechanisms to address hate speech, misinformation and cyberbullying.

“We can empower Namibians to engage responsibly on social media platforms, while safeguarding their rights and well-being,” he said.

In 2019, Swapo members of parliament wanted the National Assembly to adopt a motion leading to the enactment of legislation to regulate social media.

This motion was introduced by then Swapo chief whip, Evelyne !Nawases-Taeyele.

Then information minister Stanley Simataa said the government cannot enact a law that would effectively teach people good moral values or how to behave on social media.

In her motivation recently, !Nawases-Taeyele said simple values like decency, patriotism and morality were under threat in Namibia.

She said although social media has proven to be beneficial to society, some people use the platforms to “badmouth, slander, offend and insult others”.

!Nawases-Taeyele also claimed that young people in Namibia were using social media to fuel propaganda and insult national leaders.

Commentators previously said social media cannot be held responsible for Namibia’s lack of morality and/or social cohesion. One of them, Access to Information in Namibia chairperson Frederico Links, said the attempt to regulate social media by Swapo MPs shows that the ruling party has a problem with the youth speaking out against corruption.

The year after these discussions, Simataa said the government had approved a proposal to regulate social media, with an attempt to protect girls from malicious content that could encourage them to engage in sex while in school. He said this plan to regulate social media would only target those who share malicious content which could encourage young girls to engage in sexual activities and risk falling pregnant while still in school.

He made these remarks during a media briefing on the outcome of the first Cabinet meeting for the year 2020.

He said the government is currently reviewing existing legislation to determine the degree “to which the provisions in these laws are adequate enough to address the abuse of social media”.

He said the regulation of social media will only be done in instances where people use it to transmit messages that encourage young girls to indulge in sexual activities that will lead to them falling pregnant in schools.

This Cabinet decision follows numerous attempts by Swapo members of parliament to regulate the use of social media.