Facebook said they received a request from the Kenyan government to divulge details of some of their citizens. However, it is unconfirmed if the social media giants yielded to the request.
A statement accredited to TechCabal points at the government of Kenya demanding for data information on five Facebook users. This report is disturbing because people’s social media accounts are private. The authorities also failed to follow the legal process which makes it even more worrisome. The proper channels were used in only one of the requests.
In November this year, the Nigerian government had made a crackdown attempt on citizen’s digital freedom. The country’s Senate had allegedly proposed a bill to make ”hate speech’ punishable by death. This had caused an uproar on social media when the news broke. The news drew the attention of many activists and social commentators. It is sad to hear this report from another government in Africa.
A brief read of the privacy policies of Facebook discloses that the user’s details are private. When it concerns National security, this policy can be lifted. But as the website reported, this was not the case. That the authority can get their hand on your Facebook account is scary.
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Read the report quoted below:
“It appears Facebook, however, acceded to the government’s demand once. It’s unclear why the government requested for this sensitive information but it’s nonetheless chilling to know your government could be in possession of your data via a third party social media company”.
Fears keep rising regarding this volatile part of the Facebook privacy policy. Reports from the United States reveal that the government keeps the company on its toes. The authorities regularly ask for user’s details and the battle to keep these private rages on.
Is your social account really safe? This question is difficult to answer. Today it is Facebook but who knows which of them would be next. In Nigeria, we hear of social media activists disappearing. There was the case of Deji Adeyanju and Abu Hanifa Dadiyata. Even recently, Omoyele Sowore was picked up by armed forces for a YouTube video calling for revolution.
One can only imagine the danger many behind social media handles would be in if the government keeps getting access to users’ accounts.
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