My Brain Food This Week...
African macroeconomics, UAE growth through startups, love/hate for TikTok
Story of the week:
TikTok Fights Threats of More Bans Around the World
(Alexandra Wexler)
Key takeaways:
TikTok Faces Resistance in African Countries: The government of Senegal recently blocked access to TikTok, and there have been calls for bans on the app in Somalia and Kenya as well. This indicates that governments in Africa are becoming increasingly concerned about TikTok's popularity, especially among young people.
Concerns About Controversial Content: The primary concern of African governments regarding TikTok is controversial content. For example, in Kenya, there is a focus on reducing sexually explicit content on live videos, especially late at night. This is different from the concerns in the U.S. and Europe, where there are worries about potential Chinese government influence and data privacy issues.
TikTok's Influence in Africa: TikTok is highly influential in Africa, particularly among the youth due to the continent's young population. It is noted that young people in Africa are watching more content on TikTok than on traditional journalism outlets.
Response to Concerns: TikTok has been responding to these concerns by committing to isolate its U.S. and European operations from its Chinese parent company and by working on content moderation. In Kenya, they promised to hire more Kenyan moderators to address the issue of explicit content.
Uncertainty in Other African Countries: While TikTok reached an agreement to continue operating in Kenya, the situation is still unclear in Somalia and Senegal. TikTok is engaging with regulators in Somalia, where concerns revolve around violent extremism, and in Senegal, where the app was blocked due to allegations of promoting hate speech and silencing government critics. The company faces bans in other countries outside Africa as well, like Jordan and Kyrgyzstan.
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