The Council for Responsible Social Media is a multi-sector coalition of prominent leaders who wish to secure a safe and equitable digital future for the African society by addressing digital harms from social media and emerging technologies. The Council does this by holding Big Tech accountable, challenging digital colonialism and marginalization, and advocating for local innovation that reflects African social, economic, and cultural values, informed by feminist tech principles.
While Africans have readily adopted the benefits of emerging technologies, including social media, the lack of Big Tech accountability has resulted in significant harms on the African society. These include online scams, gendered disinformation, online radicalization and extremism, hate speech, misogyny, and attacks on elections and democratic processes. These harms often violate platforms' own terms of service and content moderation policies. Big Tech must be held accountable and provide the same duty of care afforded to users in global minority markets, such as Europe and the US without discrimination.
The Council for Responsible Social Media employs a multi-faceted approach to achieving its objectives, including policy advocacy, strategic partnerships, stakeholder capacity development, research-based evidence generation, strategic litigation, and other actions to create a safe and secure digital ecosystem for the African society.
In Africa, marginalized and vulnerable communities face heightened risks from unaccountable Big Tech. But together, we can create change. Join us in demanding a more responsible and accountable tech industry, one that prioritizes human rights and protects those most at risk. Your support is crucial to amplifying our voice and building a safer digital future for all.
Over the years we’ve reported on the state of Big Tech. The challenges that we’re facing today are not new to us. We’ve been in this dialogue for years as a champion of the people, working to make tech a safe place. Interested in our work? Reach out to receive copies of our Reports.
This report reflects on 2022 general elections when Kenya was hit by a wave of disinformation that amplified hate speech and threatened electoral integrity, resulting in harmful effects that persisted well beyond the polls.
This study seeks to understand the public's opinion on mis/disinformation and hate speech as influenced by major social media platforms in Kenya, with the intent to identify opportunities for positive change.
This report considers Gendered Disinformation as “the spread of deceptive or inaccurate information and images against women political leaders, journalists and female public figures" as fueled by misogyny and societal stereotypes.
Organizations around the world are working to hold Big Tech accountable. We’re highlighting some of the resources that we’ve curated from other Partner organizations and institutes who are making progress in holding Big Tech accountable.
Studies demonstrate that social media platforms can pose significant risks to minors through the systemic and algorithmic promotion of harmful content which includes targeted pro-suicide and eating disorder messaging.
Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) led a two-year investigation into the online media ecosystem of al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in Africa in an effort to analyze the role of “independent news” outlets.
The Digital Services Act is a legislative initiative which seeks to regulate online intermediaries and platforms such as marketplaces, social networks, content-sharing platforms, app stores, and online travel and accommodation platforms.
We want to hear from you! Reach out to share your personal story or to stay connected on our latest news & events. Have you experienced harm from Big Tech? Do you want to be part of the change? Let’s stay connected. Don’t worry, your data is safe with us. We won’t share or sell the contact information that you provide.
