Social media can be threat to democracy, security – Osinbajo

Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has warned that while social media is a powerful tool for expression and activism, it also poses significant threats to democracy, social cohesion, and collective security.

He advocated for self-regulation of social media platforms, emphasising that government-imposed regulations could be perceived as attempts to stifle free speech.

Osinbajo made these remarks at the Technology, New Media, Citizens, and Governance (TNCG) conference held in Lagos on Thursday.

The event themed ‘Technology: The Present and Future of Political Action in Africa’ was convened by Enough is Enough Nigeria and BudgIT.

Delivering his keynote titled: ‘Technology as a Catalyst for Political Action in Africa’, the former vice president highlighted the importance of technology in advocacy and governance.

“Why technology is so important in the discourse on political action. It is because technology is both a tool and a radical expression of a crucial right, a fundamental right to freedom of expression,” he stated.

Citing examples like Nigeria’s #EndSARS movement and Kenya’s Gen Z uprising, Osinbajo highlighted how social media and digital platforms have been used for real-time communication, awareness creation, and mobilisation.

“Social media has indeed given a voice to the voiceless,” he noted, adding that it empowers individuals from all walks of life.

“Social media is really empowering for all and it is non-discriminatory — the weak, the strong, the treacherous, the mischievous and haters of every kind — have cover to speak their minds, speak truth to power, and insult.

“The most dramatic use of technology is the use of social media for protest mobilisation. And that, I think, is the one that I was especially impressed with. Platforms like X, Instagram, were used in organising the EndSARS protest in Nigeria.

“Activists coordinated rallies, they raised funds, presented evidence of law enforcement violations, real time, and also raised international awareness
using the hashtags. Much of the same approach was used in the EndBadGovernance protests.

“More recently, the so-called Gen Z uprising in Kenya protesting the Finance Bill 2024 saw the use of TikTok and X to spread awareness, plan demonstrations, share information, and then to avoid the police, the protesters used the Zelo app, which functions as a real-time walkie-talkie, so they were able to use this app to avoid the police because this app enabled them to have live updates on police movements, and then they were able to plan accordingly.”

While acknowledging technology’s benefits, Osinbajo cautioned against its misuse. He referenced incidents like the Cambridge Analytica scandal and AI-driven deepfake videos, which have fueled misinformation and societal divisions.

Osinbajo stressed the need for self-regulation in social media to mitigate risks like misinformation, saying that “social media can be a threat to democracy.”

“But social media platforms can be a threat to democracy. They can be a threat to social cohesion and individual and collective security,” he stated.

He described social media as a “critical medium” that can influence political and societal dynamics but stressed the need for restraint and accountability. “I think it is a critical medium, but we must find ways of self-regulation,” he said.