Abstract
Ghana’s 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression, right to information and independence of the media. It also prohibits media censorship subject to appropriate safeguards. In recent years, a significant rise in the use of social media platforms has brought with it cybercrime, incidents of the publication of false news and hate speech among others. This chapter explores the question of balancing regulation of social media in Ghana with the protection of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and expression, and the right to information. Using a doctrinal analysis, the chapter presents an overview of social media, its opportunities for and threats to users. It then discusses Ghana’s regulatory framework for the protection of the right to freedom of speech and expression, right to information and use of social media. The discussion continues with an exploration of the balance between regulation and protection of these rights and ends with recommendations. The chapter argues among others that the irresponsible use of social media may justify a reasonable degree of censorship. Regulators, however, must balance the interests by setting out clear parameters by which social media users may be guided and by which regulatory interventions may be assessed.
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Notes
- 1.
Mohammad Yamin, ‘Information Technologies of 21st Century and their Impact on the Society’ (2019) 11 International Journal of Information Technology 759, 759; OECD, ‘21st Century Technologies: Promises and Perils of a Dynamic Future’ (Oecd.org, 1998), https://www.oecd.org/futures/35391210.pdf, accessed 17 August 2021, 7.
- 2.
Ibid.
- 3.
Yamin (n 2) 759; Alejandra Guzman, ‘6 Ways Social Media is Changing the World’ (World Economic Forum, 2016), https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/6-ways-social-media-is-changing-the-world/, accessed 27 August 2021; Syed Zulkarnain Syed Idrus and Nor Azizah Hitam, ‘Social Media Use or Abuse: A Review’ (2014) 3 Journal of Human Development and Communication 48, 52.
- 4.
In Ghana, the freedom of speech and expression, including the freedom of the press and other media, is guaranteed under article 21 (1) (a) of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution. The 1992 constitution, per Article 21 (1) (e), and the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989) also guarantee the right to information.
- 5.
Ace Anan Ankomah v Kelvin Ekow Baidoo Taylor & Another Suit No. GJ/1692/2019, 3. Judgement delivered on 24th February, 2020, per Justice Kweku T Ackaah-Boafo.
- 6.
Ankomah v Taylor & Another (n 6); William Yaw Owusu, ‘The Ghanaian Media Landscape: How Unethical Practices of Journalists Undermine Progress’ (Masters Theses, University of Oxford 2012).
- 7.
Julius Endert, ‘Digital Backlash Threatens Media Freedom in Ghana’ (DW.COM, 2018), https://www.dw.com/en/digital-backlash-threatens-media-freedom-in-ghana/a-46602904, accessed 26 August 2021.
- 8.
Ibid.
- 9.
Ibid.
- 10.
Jan H Kietzmann and others ‘Social Media? Get Serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media’ (2011) 54 Business Horizons 241, 241.
- 11.
Ibid.
- 12.
‘Most Used Social Media 2021 | Statista’ (Statista, 2021), https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/, accessed 15 August 2021.
- 13.
‘Facebook: Active Users Worldwide | Statista’ (Statista, 2021), https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/#:~:text=How%20many%20users%20does%20Facebook,network%20ever%20to%20do%20so, accessed 16 August 2021.
- 14.
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
- 15.
‘Africa Internet Users, 2020 Population and Facebook Statistics’ (Internetworldstats.com, 2021), https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm, accessed 15 August 2021.
- 16.
Fadwa Chalfoun and Vida Davidavičienė, ‘Electronic Media as Important Tool in Today’s Business’ (2017) 4 Journal of Logistics, Information and Service Science 16, 18.
- 17.
Ibid 17.
- 18.
‘U.S. Increased Time Spent on Social Due to Coronavirus 2020 | Statista’ (Statista, 2021), https://www.statista.com/statistics/1116148/more-time-spent-social-media-platforms-users-usa-coronavirus/, accessed 15 August 2021.
- 19.
Ibid.
- 20.
‘Online Behaviors of Consumers during COVID-19 in UK 2021 | Statista’ (Statista, 2021), https://www.statista.com/statistics/1231447/online-behaviors-of-consumers-uk/, accessed 15 August 2021.
- 21.
Chalfoun and Davidavičienė (n 17), 17; Idrus and Hitam (n 4), 52–53.
- 22.
Guzman (n 4).
- 23.
Chalfoun and Davidavičienė (n 17), 18.
- 24.
Ephraim Okoro, ‘Integrating Social Media Technologies in Higher Education: Costs-Benefits Analysis’ (2012) 8 Journal of International Education Research 255.
- 25.
Shabnoor Siddiqui and Tajinder Singh, ‘Social Media its Impact with Positive and Negative Aspects’ (2016) 5 IJCATR 71, 73–75; Waseem Akram and R Kumar, ‘A Study on Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media on Society’ (2017) 5 IJCSE 347, 352.
- 26.
Ibid.; Ankomah v Taylor & Another (n 6).
- 27.
Akram and Kumar (n 26) 352.
- 28.
Sheheryar T Sardar and Benish A Shah, ‘Social Media, Censorship, and Control: Beyond SOPA, PIPA, and the Arab Spring’ (2012) 15 U Pa JL & Soc Change 577.
- 29.
Anthony W Bradley and KD Ewing, Constitutional and Administrative Law (14 ed, Pearson Longman 2007) 453.
- 30.
Shameek Sen, ‘Right to Free Speech and Censorship: A Jurisprudential Analysis’ [2014] Journal of the Indian Law Institute, www.jstor.org/stable/43953700?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab-content, accessed 10 August 2021.
- 31.
Retrofit (Pvt) Ltd v Post and Telecommunications Corporation (1996) 4 489 (LRC (Const)).
- 32.
Ghana placed 30th on the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, ranking 3rd in Africa. See ‘2021 World Press Freedom Index | RSF’ (RSF, 2020), https://rsf.org/en/ranking_table, accessed 16 August 2021.
- 33.
1992 Constitution (n 5), art 21 (1) (e).
- 34.
Ibid., art 21(1) (f).
- 35.
Ibid., art 21 (1) (e), 162 (1) and (2).
- 36.
Ibid., art 18 (2), 21 (f), 135, 164.
- 37.
‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ (Un.org, 1948), https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights, accessed 16 August 2021.
- 38.
‘OHCHR | International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’ (Ohchr.org, 1966), https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx, accessed 16 August 2021.
- 39.
‘African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (African Union, 1981), https://au.int/en/treaties/african-charter-human-and-peoples-rights, accessed 28 August 2021.
- 40.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (n 38).
- 41.
Ibid.
- 42.
ICCPR (n 39), art 19 (1).
- 43.
Ibid., art 19 (2).
- 44.
‘ICCPR Human Rights Committee-General Comment No. 34’ (Www2.ohchr.org, 2021), 4, https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/gc34.pdf, accessed 16 August 2021.
- 45.
Ibid., 3.
- 46.
ICCPR (n 39), art 19 (3).
- 47.
‘ICCPR Human Rights Committee-General Comment No. 34’ (n 45), 6.
- 48.
ICCPR (n 39), art 19 (1), UNDHR (n 38), art 19.
- 49.
African Charter (n 40).
- 50.
Ibid., art 9 (2).
- 51.
‘Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa 2019’ (African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 2019), https://www.achpr.org/legalinstruments/detail?id=69, accessed 29 August 2021.
- 52.
Ibid.
- 53.
Ibid., 3.
- 54.
Ibid., prin. 38 (1).
- 55.
Ibid.
- 56.
Ibid., prin. 38 (3). Economic sanctions include taxes, duties, levies and damages awarded by a court.
- 57.
Ibid., prin. 40 (2) and (3).
- 58.
1992 Constitution (n 5), art. 162(2).
- 59.
Chapter 7 of Part II of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) was repealed by the Criminal Code (Repeal of Criminal Libel and Seditious Laws) (Amendment) Act, 2001 (Act 602). Olivia Anku-Tsede, ‘The Media and the Offence of Criminal Libel in Ghana: Sankofa’ (2013) 9 Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization 26; ST Kwame Boafo, ‘Ghana’s Press Under the PNDC: Performance Under Confinement’ (1985) 35 Gazette 73; Seth Y Bimpong-Buta, The Role of the Supreme Court in the Development of Constitutional Law in Ghana (Advanced Legal Publications 2007), 439–440.
- 60.
1992 Constitution (n 5), art. 163.
- 61.
[1993–1993] GBR 522, 531.
- 62.
Act 989 (n 5), ss 5–17. These include information for the President or the Vice President, relating to the Cabinet, national security, international relations and information relating to law enforcement, public safety and tax.
- 63.
The Right to Information Bill was published in the Gazette of Wednesday, 31st July, 2013 and laid before Parliament on 12th November, 2013. It was passed by parliament and assented to by the President on 21 May, 2019.
- 64.
Suit No. HR/0027/2015. Judgement delivered on 13 April 2016.
- 65.
In 2015 the government of Ghana reportedly spent GH¢3.6 million in branding 116 public buses at an approximate cost of GH¢31,000 per bus. Investigations however revealed that the artist who branded the buses had charged GH¢1,600 per bus. This formed the basis of the applicants’ request for disclosure of information regarding the bus branding contract. See Seth J Bokpe, ‘A-G Raises Preliminary Objection Over Bus Branding Case in Court’ (Graphic Online, 2016), https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/a-g-raises-preliminary-objection-over-bus-branding-case-in-court.html, accessed 27 March 2022.
- 66.
1992 Constitution (n 5), art 12 (2).
- 67.
Ibid., art. 21 (4) (c) and (e).
- 68.
Ibid., art. 21(1) (f).
- 69.
Ibid., art 135.
- 70.
Ibid., art. I62 (2).
- 71.
Ibid., art. 164.
- 72.
[1997–98] 1 GLR 515.
- 73.
Ibid., 585–586. This case determined the constitutionality of the erstwhile Sect. 185 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) on the offence of false reporting which is injurious to the State. The court held that the limitations placed on the freedom of speech in Sect. 185 of Act 29 were reasonably required for the protection of the rights of other persons and in the public interest and as such were not inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the constitution as argued. The constitutionality of Sects. 112 (2) and 117 (1) (h) of Act 29 on criminal libel and defamation was also determined in Republic v Tommy Thompson Books Ltd and Others (No. 1) [1997–98] 1 GLR 611.
- 74.
Act 29 (n 60), s. 208 and s. 76 of the Electronic Communications Act 2008 (Act 775).
- 75.
Act 29 (n 60), s. 280 and 281.
- 76.
Ibid., s. 284.
- 77.
Ibid., s. 296 (y), 278 and 282.
- 78.
Ibid., s. 205 (b) and 207.
- 79.
Ibid., s. 298.
- 80.
Suit No. D21/112/2021. Judgement delivered on 16 April 2021, unreported.
- 81.
Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), s. 66.
- 82.
Ibid., s. 67.
- 83.
AU has, in 2014, adopted the AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection to drive the national policies of member states towards an aggressive repression of cybercrime and other offences related to the use of information and communication technology. Ghana is one of the 14 member states that have signed the Convention and one of the 8 who have ratified it. African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/29560-treaty-0048_-_african_union_convention_on_cyber_security_and_personal_data_protection_e.pdf, accessed on 27 August 2021.
- 84.
Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843), s. 86.
- 85.
Article 164 of the 1992 Constitution attaches, to the freedom of the media, the responsibility to among others, respect the reputation of others. Section 298 of Act 29 also prohibits the exposure of any defamatory writing or object.
- 86.
Supra (n 6).
- 87.
Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, ‘Access to Information and National Security in Ghana: Drawing the Balance’ (2015), https://www.right2info.org/resources/publications/pretoria-finalization-meeting-april-2013-documents/national-security-and-rti-in-ghana, accessed 28 August 2021, 5.
- 88.
Bryan A Garner and Henry Campbell Black, ‘Black’s Law Dictionary: Standard Edition’ (8th edn, West Publishing Co, 2004), 670.
- 89.
Sen (n 31), 176.
- 90.
Ibid., 177.
- 91.
Paul O’Higgins, Censorship in Britain (Nelson 1972), 12–13.
- 92.
Ibid.
- 93.
Under Sects. 29 and 30 of Ghana’s Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 1996 (Act 526), a warrant is required to intercept communication. Also, under Sect. 73 (1) of Act 775 (n 75) and Sect. 94 of Act 1038 (n 83), it is an offence to intercept or procure another person to intercept communication transmitted over an electronic communication network without the authorisation of the network provider, user or a court.
- 94.
O’Higgins (n 93).
- 95.
Thomas Poell, ‘Social Media Activism and State Censorship’ in D Trottier and C Fuchs (eds) Social Media, Politics and the State: Protests, Revolutions, Riots, Crime and Policing in an Age of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (Routledge, 2014) 189, 191; ‘10 Most Censored Countries’ (n 13).
- 96.
Poell (n 99), 190–191.
- 97.
‘10 Most Censored Countries’ (n 13).
- 98.
Act 29 (n 60), chap. 7—Offences against Public Morality.
- 99.
Chapter 5 of Act 29, for example, criminalises certain behaviours considered to be injurious to public morals.
- 100.
Marjorie Heins, ‘The Brave New World of Social Media Censorship’ (2013–2014) 127 Harv L Rev F 325, 327. Google for example has since 2012 censored search terms that include sexual content by making it impossible to completely disable its SafeSearch feature.
- 101.
The case of Ace Anan Ankomah v Kevin Taylor & Another (n 6), provides an example of such a measure.
- 102.
Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart, The Concept of Law (2nd ed, OUP, 1994), 91–92. According to Hart, social dissent to deviant behaviour can effectively ensure public order in close knit societies.
- 103.
Sen (n 31), 193–194.
- 104.
Poell (n 99), 190–191, citing Larry Diamond, ‘Liberation Technology’ (2010) 21 Journal of Democracy 69, 70.
- 105.
The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America protects freedom of expression and prevents the government from making laws that abridge the freedom of speech. ‘U.S. Constitution—First Amendment | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.Gov | Library of Congress’ (Constitution.congress.gov, 2021), https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/, accessed 16 August 2021.
- 106.
David L Hudson Jr., ‘Free Speech or Censorship? Social Media Litigation Is a Hot Legal Battleground’ (2019) ABA Journal, https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/social-clashes-digital-free-speech, accessed 30 August 2021.
- 107.
376 U.S. 254 (1964).
- 108.
Ibid.
- 109.
Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University v. Trump, No. 18–1691-cv (2nd Cir. Jul. 9, 2019).
- 110.
Ibid.
- 111.
Louis W Tompros and others, ‘The Constitutionality of Criminalizing False Speech Made on Social Networking Sites in a Post-Alvarez, Social Media-Obsessed World (2017) 31 Harvard Journal of Law & Technology 65, 89; In Chavunduka v. Minister of Home Affairs, 2000 JOL 6540 (ZS), the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe held that criminal sanctions for false speech is a thing of the colonial era.
- 112.
Tompros (n 115), 85.
- 113.
Ibid., 88.
- 114.
521 U.S. 844.
- 115.
Supra (n 81).
- 116.
Act 29 (n 6), ss. 208, 278, 280—282, 296 (y), 298.
- 117.
Evelyn Mary Aswad, ‘The Future of Freedom of Expression Online’ (2018), 17 Duke Law & Technology Review 26, 26–29. Twitter for example bans hate speech and other offensive conduct. ‘The Twitter Rules’ (Help.twitter.com, 2020), https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules, accessed 31 August 2021.
- 118.
Aswad (n 121), 46.
- 119.
ICCPR (n 39), art. 19 (3); DPFEAIA (n 52) prin. 38 (1); Aswad (n 121), 46.
- 120.
Act 1038 (n 83), s. 87.
- 121.
Ibid. (n 83), s. 87 (2).
- 122.
Case No. 18CECG00078. June 6, 2018 (Dept 503).
- 123.
Ibid., 3.
- 124.
395 F. Supp. 3d 1295 (N.D. Cal. 2019).
- 125.
[2017] GHASC 45.
- 126.
Ibid. The court also held that the National Media Commission was not empowered under the National Media Commission Act, 1993 (Act 449) to impose criminal sanctions.
- 127.
438 U.S 726 (1978).
- 128.
395 U.S 367 (1969).
- 129.
ICCPR (n 39), art. 19 (3); DPFEAIA (n 52) prin. 38 (1); Aswad (n 121), 46.
- 130.
Publication of false news and communication is punishable under Act 29 (n 58), s. 208 and Act 775 (n 71), s. 76.
- 131.
DPFEAIA (n 52) prin. 22 (2), 38 (3): Tompros (n 125); Chavunduka v. Minister of Home Affairs (n 115).
- 132.
DPFEAIA (n 52), prin. 22 (2).
- 133.
Act 602 (n 60).
- 134.
Act 29 (n 60), s. 208 and Act 775 (n 75), s. 76.
- 135.
Ankomah v Taylor and Another, (n 6).
- 136.
DPFEAIA (n 52), prin. 22 (5).
- 137.
Tompros (n 115), 85.
- 138.
A social media account may bear false identity unknown to viewers hence tracing may lead to a wrong person.
- 139.
This goes to the judicial or administrative process to be employed.
- 140.
Supra (n 126).
- 141.
Supra (n 128).
- 142.
An exception to this is where the online content poses imminent danger or constitutes real risk of death or serious harm to a person or child, as provided in principle 39 (5) of the DPFEAIA (n 52). However, in such cases, the immediate removal of the post must be is subject to review by a judicial authority.
- 143.
‘Cybersecurity 101: What You Need to Know about False Positives and False Negatives’ (Infocyte, 2021), https://www.infocyte.com/blog/2019/02/16/cybersecurity-101-what-you-need-to-know-about-false-positives-and-false-negatives/, accessed 31 August 2021.
- 144.
DPFEAIA (n 52), prin. 39 (4) states that ‘States shall not require the removal of online content by internet intermediaries unless such requests are: (a) clear and unambiguous; (b) imposed by an independent and impartial judicial authority, subject to sub-principle 5; (c) subject to due process safeguards; (d) justifiable and compatible with international human rights law and standards; and (e) implemented through a transparent process that allows a right of appeal.’.
- 145.
Act 1038 (n 83), s. 87.
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Gawu, D.A., Mensah, R.O. (2022). Balancing the Freedom of Expression, Right to Information and Use of Social Media in Ghana. In: Addadzi-Koom, M.E., Addaney, M., Nkansah, L.A. (eds) Democratic Governance, Law, and Development in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15397-6_5
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