Ethiopia has been engulfed since last year in an armed
conflict pitting the federal government against the Tigray People's Liberation
Front (TPLF), which controls the Tigray region in the country's north.
Supporters of both sides have waged a parallel war of words
on social media.
The government wants its local platform to
"replace" Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Zoom, the director general
of the Information Network Security Agency (INSA), Shumete Gizaw, said.
Shumete accused Facebook of deleting posts and user accounts
which he said were "disseminating the true reality about Ethiopia".
International human rights groups have criticized the
Ethiopian government for unexplained shutdowns to social media services
including Facebook and WhatsApp in the past year. The government has not
commented on those shutdowns.
Facebook's Africa spokesperson, Kezia Anim-Addo, declined to
comment on Ethiopia's plans and did not respond immediately to a query about
Shumete's accusations.
But in June, days before national elections, Facebook said
it had removed a network of fake accounts in Ethiopia targeting domestic users
which it linked to individuals associated with INSA, which is responsible for
monitoring telecommunications and the internet.
Spokespeople for Twitter and Zoom did not immediately reply
to comment requests.
Shumete declined to specify a timeline, budget and other
details, but told Reuters: "The rationale behind developing technology
with local capacity is clear ... Why do you think China is using WeChat?"
He said Ethiopia had the local expertise to develop the
platforms and would not hire outsiders to help.
Social messaging app WeChat is owned by China-headquartered
Tencent, is widely used in the country, and is considered to be a strong tool
by Chinese authorities for monitoring its population.
Shumete also referred Reuters to comments he made on Friday
to a local media outlet in which he accused Facebook of blocking users who were
"preaching national unity and peace".
He also told Al-Ain Amharic that authorities were working on
the platform to replace Facebook and Twitter, while a trial has already been
completed of a platform to replace WhatsApp and Zoom and that platform will
soon be operational.
© Reuter
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