ANIE Workshop Information Ethics in Africa

1. ANIE WorkshopInformation Ethics in Africa In cooperation with SCECSAL 2012 Nairobi, June 3, 2012 Rafael Capurro International Center for Information Ethics Distinguished Researcher in Information Ethics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA Capurro-Fiek-Foundation http://www.capurro.de/home-eng.html

2. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • Social Media in Africa • Ethics of Social Media • Prospects R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

3. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • Social media in Africa http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol24no1/ushahidi.html R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

4. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa Infographic social media in Africa In: The Globe and Mail, Nov. 30, 2011 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/social-media-in-africa/article2235087/ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

5. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

6. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa Sébastian Seibt: First Twitter map of Africa reveals a connected continent. In: France 24, International news, 27/1/2012 http://www.france24.com/en/20120127-africa-twitter-smartphone-map R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

7. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

8. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa “What is perhaps a positive surprise is that there is not one country in the whole of Africa where Twitter is not used,” said Watkinson. --- Robert Watkinson, associate director of Portland Communications. Seehttp://www.portland-communications.com/locations/nairobi R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

9. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa The map reveals that the number of tweets is not necessarily related to the wealth of a particular country. Kenya ranked ahead of Nigeria and Egypt, despite those two countries being wealthier, more populous, and regular sources of headline news. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

10. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa “Kenyans generally consume much more mobile internet data per user than the Nigerians. For example, this could be the very reason why Kenya generates more geo-located tweets than others,” said Watkinson.“ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

11. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa André-Michel Essoungou: A social media boom begins in Africa. Using mobile phones, Africans join the global conversation. From Africa Renewal, December 2010, page 3 http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/vol24no4/social-media-boom.html R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

12. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa „In recent months Facebook — the major social media platform worldwide and currently the most visited website in most of Africa — has seen massive growth on the continent. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

13. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa The number of African Facebook users now stands at over 17 million, up from 10 million in 2009. More than 15 per cent of people online in Africa are currently using the platform, compared to 11 per cent in Asia. Two other social networking websites, Twitter and YouTube, rank among the most visited websites in most African countries.“ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

14. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa „Erik Hersman, a prominent African social media blogger and entrepreneur who helped drive development of the ground-breaking platform Ushahidi (see Young Africans put technology to new uses), is equally enthusiastic. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

15. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa In an e-mail to Africa Renewal he notes that "with mobile phone penetration already high across the continent, and as we get to critical mass with Internet usage in some of Africa's leading countries (Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt) … a seismic shift will happen with services, products and information." R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

16. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa Will Mutua: Africa Facebook Phenomenon Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa. In: Afrinnovator, January 4, 2011 http://afrinnovator.com/blog/2011/01/04/africa-facebook-phenomenon-nigeria-kenya-south-africa/ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

17. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa „Facebook has become a bit of a phenomenon amongst African youth. In Kenya it is not uncommon to find young people walking around, or sitting in matatus glued to their mobile screens, not reading text messages or dialing but following the happenings in their Facebook ‘friendverse’. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

18. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa So we thought we’d take a quick look at whether this situation is unique to Kenya or there’s a trend in other parts of Africa. We took a look at specifically Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, representing west, east and southern Africa.“ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

19. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa „Nigeria Some interesting news from Nigeria, according to a blog post by Loy Okezie, is the fact that Facebook has just overtaken Yahoo to become Nigeria’s most visited site.“ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

20. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa „Kenya Moses Kemibaro last year wrote a piece on the growth of Kenya’s Facebook population.There have been conflicting claims concerning the actual number of Kenyans on Facebook, Moses claimed over 1 Million based on his research.“ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

21. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa „South Africa South Africa so far is by far the largest Facebook population. According to SocialBakers the country boasts over 3.4 million people on Facebook exceeding 6% of the total population and 65% of South Africa’s online population.“ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

22. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa „From what we’ve found we can also conclude that Facebook is definitely the place to go to reach Africa’s urban youth. On average, the 18-25 age bracket represents the lion’s share of Africa’s Facebook population, R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

23. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa which sounds pretty reasonable given the fact that this is the generation which is being exposed to the Internet and World Wide Web currently, they are also a fair amount of the general population of Africa, they are educated, urbanized and highly exposed to the modern world.“ R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

24. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa 2. Ethics of Social Media R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

25. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • Some ethical values as related to social media and the Internet: • Freedom of mutual recognition • Self-determination • Equality of opportunities • Rules of social fair play • Informed consent • Social and political participation R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

26. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • Some ethical conflicts as related to social media and the Internet: • Digital divide • Media monopolies • Digital cannibalism • Cultural dependency • Manipulation and misuse • Social control and surveillance R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

27. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa This is a debate on freedom and fair societies in the digital age in Africa towards the construction of African identities based on mutual respect and recognition of the qualities, capabilities, resources and histories... of African peoples. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

28. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa It is a socio-political as well as an academic debate dealing also with transparency of public policy and people's participation. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

29. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa Why is the debate about privacy and publicness so crucial today? I think it is because the difference private/public, which is essential for social life, is being perceived in different ways, particularly since the internet, but also already with mass media, free press, etc. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

30. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa It is, on the one hand, a debate about the self-determination of individuals in order to shape their own lives, R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

31. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa as well as, on the other hand, on how social media can be used by citizens for an active participation in public policy. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

32. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa Both issues should be based on rules of fair social interplay. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

33. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa 3. Prospects R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

34. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa The public / privacy debate with regard to social media is an important issue for the development of free and fair information societies in Africa. I can imagine some research questions arising from this debate such as: R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

35. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • What are the specific cultural and historical conditions that influence this debate on social media in Africa? R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

36. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • What are the bad and good practices with social media in Africa? R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

37. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • How do classical mass media and today's social media influence socio-ethical values in African countries and cultures and vice versa? R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

38. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • What is the impact of the development of social media in other countries and cultures outside Africa on African societies and cultures? R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

39. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • How do social media influence political and social changes in Africa? R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

40. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • What is the impact of social media on oral cultures and indigenous languages in Africa? R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

41. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa • Will Africans invent their own ways of social interplay on the internet? R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

42. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa References Capurro, Rafael: Information Ethics for and from Africa (2007) http://www.capurro.de/africa.html Essoungou, André-Michel: A social media boom begins in Africa. Using mobile phones, Africans join the global conversation. In Africa Renewal, December 2010, p. 3 http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/vol24no4/social-media-boom.html Essoungou, André-Michel: Young Africans put technology to new uses. Kenyan software a tool for political participation. In Africa Renewal, April 2010, p. 3 http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/vol24no1/ushahidi.html R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

43. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa Infographic social media in Africa. In The Globe and Mail, Nov. 30, 2011 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/social-media-in-africa/article2235087/ Internet-Privacy. A Culture of Privacy and Trust for the Internet. http://www.acatech.de/uk/home-uk/work-and-results/current-projects/internet-privacy.html R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012

44. Social Media and Information Ethics in Africa Seibt, Sébastian: First Twitter map of Africa reveals a connected continent. In France 24, International news, 27/1/2012 http://www.france24.com/en/20120127-africa-twitter-smartphone-map Trepte, Sabine and Leonard Reinecke, Leonard (eds.): Privacy Online. Perspectives on Privacy and Self-Disclosure in the Social Web. Heidelberg: Springer 2011. R. Capurro, IE Workshop Nairobi 2012