X Access Blocked in Tanzania Over "Pornography"
Tanzania says it's blocking X over explicit content, but critics see a familiar pattern of election-season censorship.
You go online to check updates, maybe see what people are saying about the elections, and suddenly, X just isn’t there. There is no error message, no heads-up, just silence. It’s been nearly two weeks since Tanzania pulled the plug on the platform, and now the government says it’s about curbing pornographic content, including same-sex material, which they say violates the country's online ethics and cultural values.
Information Minister Jerry Silaa made the announcement on local TV, emphasising the government’s stance on digital morality. “Even on YouTube, some content is inaccessible,” he said, linking the X block to broader efforts to control what Tanzanians see online.
But critics aren’t convinced this is just about pornography. Human rights groups argue the ban fits a worrying pattern of digital suppression, especially with presidential and parliamentary elections coming in October. The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) called out the government for using X while simultaneously restricting public access, a move they say erodes public trust.
There’s also a bigger backstory. Just before the blackout, the official X account of the Tanzania Police Force was hacked to falsely announce the president’s death, a cyberattack that reportedly infuriated authorities. Internet watchdog NetBlocks confirmed X became unreachable across major providers shortly after that incident.
And this isn’t the first time. X was taken offline in Tanzania too, around the 2020 election too, and the clampdown has only intensified. In May alone, Tanzania shut down more than 80,000 websites, blogs, and social media accounts, citing risks to children’s mental health.
This isn’t unique to Tanzania. Across Africa, several governments have taken similar action when social media gets too loud. In 2021, Nigeria suspended Twitter after it deleted a tweet by the president, citing national security concerns. Uganda blacked out social media during its elections. Ethiopia has throttled internet access during civil unrest. The justification varies, but the outcome is familiar: less transparency, more control.
While the government insists it’s protecting national values, the broader picture suggests a shrinking digital space and growing discomfort with dissent. And as more platforms go dark, the real concern may not just be what’s considered “unethical,” but who gets to decide.
Techloy
