Twitter's Presence in Africa Won't End Internet Censorship

An expert’s point of view on a current event. June 3, 2021, 5:47 AM In April, Twitter announced it was opening an African headquarters in Ghana’s capital, Accra—more than a year after founder Jack Dorsey mentioned his own personal plans to move to the continent. The decision was received with mixed reactions in the African tech community. Although many were excited, others were not pleased with the choice of Ghana as Twitter’s Africa head office. It was seen by many Nigerians as a snub to Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, which is popular with the African start-up community for its fast growing tech hub in Lagos. Ironically, most of the content and curation roles advertised by Twitter in Accra were created with a focus on Nigeria at its core. On the choice of its Africa headquarters, the San Francisco-based tech giant said, “Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet.” There is no doubt Nigeria’s unconducive business environment—and a rising spate of insecurity, kidnappings, and violence—led Twitter to choose Ghana. Even with a new office in Accra, the chances Twitter’s presence on the continent will have a significant impact on the daily realities of people living…
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