World
Somalia suspends TikTok, Telegram over terrorism fears
The Somali government has suspended TikTok, Telegram, and 1XBET, a betting company, arguing that they are used by terrorists and groups that promote immorality in the East African country.
The Ministry of Communications and Technology ordered Internet providers to block the applications on Monday. The decision comes as the fight against extremist group al Shabaab is flaring up in the country’s central region.
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This is the first time that the government has ordered the shutdown of specific apps in the name of its anti-terror effort.
Earlier this month, Senegal suspended TikTok over concerns that it’s being used to fuel violent protests. Kenyan lawmakers have also announced a probe of the social-media platform after they received a petition demanding it be banned for being “inappropriate.”
Read more: Somalia plans to eliminate al-Shabaab in months, but analysts skeptical of timeline