President John Dramani Mahama’s proposal for a national conversation on the regulation of TikTok and other new media platforms is one that must be welcome by every well-meaning Ghanaian.
Ghana needs such a conversation because social media has transformed the way citizens communicate, obtain information and hold public officials accountable. It has also created an avenue for the rapid spread of misinformation, unsubstantiated allegations, personal attacks, threats and political insults.
The challenge before the country is how to address these abuses without undermining the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with Ghanaians in New York on September 25, 2026, President Mahama said stakeholders, including media organisations and civil society groups, should help determine how TikTok and the wider new media environment should be regulated.
The Chronicle believes this is the right approach. The regulation of social media should not be left solely to politicians or security agencies. Journalists, civil society organisations, legal experts, technology specialists and users themselves should contribute to the discussion.
The objective should be clear rules that protect legitimate expression while dealing firmly with conduct that crosses into criminality.
Freedom of speech does not give anybody the licence to threaten others, incite violence or deliberately circulate unlawful material. At the same time, criticism of government and public officials, however uncomfortable, must not automatically be treated as criminal conduct. It is here that the President must clarify his own position.
In September 2025, during his presidential media engagement, President Mahama warned people engaged in hate speech and incitement on social media that they would face the law. He went further to say that the National Signal Bureau had acquired technology capable of tracing people through their IP addresses.
“We can find you,” the President declared, warning those engaged in hate speech and incitement of violence that they would be dealt with under criminal law. We believe that was an unequivocal warning from the Head of State. It was, therefore, reasonable for the public and the security agencies to understand that the government intended to pursue unlawful online conduct.
Yet, a year later, the President says he has no knowledge of many of the arrests involving social media users and TikTokers and often learns about them through the media. He has explained that the police operate independently and do not inform him about every arrest.
We accept that the President cannot and should not direct every police operation. The independence of law enforcement must be respected.
But presidential pronouncements carry weight. When the President publicly warns that social media offenders will be traced and dealt with, his words inevitably shape public expectations about enforcement. That is why The Chronicle is calling on the President to clarify the distinction between his 2025 warning and his present position.
The question is not whether genuine social media abuse should be punished. It should, where the conduct violates the law. The real question is whether those laws are being applied consistently and without political considerations.
The Media Foundation for West Africa has already raised concerns about arrests linked to false news and offensive speech and questioned aspects of their application. Such concerns deserve proper examination and should not simply be dismissed.
The Chronicle has consistently condemned the abuse of social media. Political actors must not use the protection of free expression as a shield for character assassination, threats or the circulation of unverified allegations against opponents.
Equally, those in government must not invoke the law against critics while tolerating similar conduct from their supporters, including political actors and commentators operating outside Ghana who have increasingly contributed to the culture of partisan insults online. This is why the proposed stakeholder discussion must go beyond TikTok.
It must examine the broader political culture surrounding social media, establish clear standards for unlawful online conduct, provide safeguards for legitimate criticism and ensure that enforcement is transparent and even-handed.
President Mahama has opened an important conversation. We urge him to use it to establish a framework that protects both Ghana’s democratic freedoms and the public from genuine abuse. Ghana needs sanity in its social media space. But that sanity must come through clear rules and equal enforcement, not selective application of the law.
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