Wednesday, November 6, 2024 – Equatorial Guinea’s government has
restricted its citizens from downloading and sharing multimedia files using
mobile data on WhatsApp.
This decision from the country’s government was shared in
new guidelines to telecommunications operators to restrict access to
inappropriate content after the country’s Director General, National Financial
Investigation Agency, Baltasar Engonga, was enmeshed in a s3x scandal
involving the wives of notable people.
The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation
against the 54-year-old which resulted in the search of his house and office on
impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs containing over
400 videos that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.
The s3x videos include encounters with high-profile
individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the
President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and
about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.
The footages, discovered in his office,has since been leaked
online, causing a media uproar.
On Tuesday, November 5, Guinean news platform, Ahora EG,
reported that the citizens have been lamenting their inability to share photos,
videos, and audio when using a mobile data connection, leading users to rely
exclusively on WiFi networks to share such content.
The platform quoted a source
as saying, “Should an entire country pay for the actions of a few? The likely
decision to restrict access to essential communication functions seems
disproportionate and punitive, affecting thousands of users of these platforms
who, in addition to serving them for entertainment, also use them for their
work and/or educational activities.
“In a world where
digitalisation is becoming more and more important, should we shut down our
platforms and paralyse our activities due to the actions of a few? Currently,
users are forced to rely exclusively on WiFi connections, which not only limits
their ability to communicate but also interferes with their daily activities.
“This situation has generated
a heated debate among the population, where many believe that the measure seems
to be more focused on controlling than facilitating communication,” the report
added.
Ahora EG also quoted another
source saying, “Is it really fair that everyone should suffer the consequences
of the actions of a few? The authorities have not yet provided any explanation
for the reasons behind this restriction, as well as the duration of the same.
At a time when information and communication are more vital than ever, the lack
of transparency only aggravates citizens’ concerns.”
