Competing With Facebook And Twitter, Ethiopia Wants To Build Its Own Social Media Platform

Ethiopia does not want to be dictated by foreign social media platforms. (photo: merakist/unpslash)

JAKARTA - Ethiopia is starting to develop its own social media platform to compete with Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. But they do not plan to block the global service. This statement came from Ethiopia's state communications security agency, Monday, August 23.

Ethiopia has been beset by armed conflict since last year that pitted the federal government against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the Tigray region in the north of the country. Supporters of both sides have waged a parallel war of words on social media.

"The government wants its local platform to "replace" Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, and Zoom", said director-general of the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), Shumate Gizaw,

Shumate accused Facebook of deleting posts and user accounts it said were "spreading the truth about Ethiopia".

International human rights groups have criticized the Ethiopian government for the unexplained shutdown of social media services including Facebook and WhatsApp in the last year. The government has not commented on the shutdown.

Facebook Africa spokeswoman Kezia Anim-Addo declined to comment on Ethiopia's plans and did not immediately respond to questions about Shumete's allegations.

Ethiopia, a country of about 115 million, has about 6 million Facebook users according to Statista.

But in June, days before national elections, Facebook said it had removed a network of fake accounts in Ethiopia targeting domestic users linked to individuals linked to the INSA, which is responsible for monitoring telecommunications and the internet.

Twitter declined to comment. Zoom also did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Reuters on the matter.

Shumate declined to elaborate on the deadline, budget, and other details, but told Reuters: "The rationale behind developing technology with local capacity is clear... Why do you think China is using WeChat?", said Shumate.

He said Ethiopia had local expertise to develop the platform and would not hire outsiders to help.

The social messaging app WeChat is owned by China-headquartered Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), is widely used in the country, and is considered a powerful tool by Chinese authorities to monitor its population.

Shumate also referred Reuters to comments he made Friday to a local language media outlet in which he accused Facebook of blocking users who "preached national unity and peace".

He also told Al-Ain Amharic that the authorities are working on platforms to replace Facebook and Twitter, while trials of platforms to replace WhatsApp and Zoom have been completed and the platforms will be operational soon.