Senegal suspends Tik Tok social media app

KIGALI, Rwanda

The Senegalese government announced Wednesday a temporary suspension of the TikTok social network, days after suspending mobile internet access, according to officials

“Tik Tok is the social network preferred by malicious people to spread hateful and subversive messages threatening the stability of the country. As a result, Tik Tok is suspended until further notice in Senegal,” the Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Economy Ministry said in a statement.

The government “found that this social network is used to spread hateful messages,” it said.

The move came days after the government suspended access to mobile phone data to prevent the circulation of subversive messages which could undermine public disorder.

It comes amid political tensions following the detention Monday of opposition leader and presidential hopeful Ousmane Sonko on charges that include calls for insurrection and conspiracy against the state.

Sonko’s supporters staged street protests Tuesday demanding his release leading to violent clashes with security.

In one incident, two people were killed, and five seriously injured after a Molotov cocktail was hurled into a passenger bus in the national capital of Dakar, according to the Interior Ministry.

Three people were killed in protests Monday in Dakar and Ziguinchor, several hundred miles from Dakar, where Sonko is that city’s mayor.