The government of Equatorial Guinea 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.
One of the ladies involved in the scandal reportedly took her own life out of public opprobrium. (See the video here)
The footage, 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.”
