Keynote Address: The address was given by Dr Hayes Mabweazara of the University of Glasgow on 3 May 2022 as part of the Regulating African Digital Media Conference hosted by the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR).
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Panel 1 – Regulating Online Harms: The panel was chaired by Dr Oliver Carter and had the following presentations:
1. “Social media regulation and online harms in Egypt” by Dr Amany Hassan Bassyouny of the British University in Egypt.
2. “Protecting children from online predation: Examining data protection and the safety of children in the use of social media media in Kenya” by Dr Elizabeth Wanjiru Wambiri of the Kenyatta University School of Law.
3. “Online violence against African females” by Dr Sherin Moody of The British University in Egypt.
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Panel 2 – Journalism and Online Censorship: The panel was chaired by Dr Yemisi Akinbobola and had the following presentations:
1. “User-generated content production and traditional journalism contestations: Regulation and restrained democratic spaces in Kenya” by Dennis Oketch of Daystar University, Nairobi.
2. “Powers of the media regulatory authority: A comparative study between Mauritius and South Africa” by Dr Beebeejaun Ambareen of the University of Mauritius.
3. “Online media regulation – The Gambia” by Sulayman Bah of Birmingham City University.
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Panel 3 – Activism and the Politics of Regulation: The panel was chaired by Dr Dima Saber and had the following presentations:
1. “Online activism and social media regulation: A case study of selected African countries” by Dr Tigere Muringa of the University of KwazuNatal.
2. “Political power versus the politics of regulation: Nigeria’s Twittersphere and tussles from the #EndSARS protests” by Boluwatife Ajibola of the London School of Economics.
3. “State-sanctioned Twitter ban and digital authoritarianism: Evidence from Nigeria” by Dr Moses Ofome Asak of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
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Panel 4 – Cyber, Online and Social Media Legislation: The panel was chaired by Vincent Obia and had the following presentations:
1. Cybersecurity laws, digital media spaces and media freedoms in Zambia” by Youngson Ndawana (Liverpool John Moores University), Dr Joanne Knowles (Liverpool John Moores University), and Elastus Mambwe.
2. “Nigerian communication scholars’ perception of social media hate speech regulation in a culturally diverse nation-state” by Dr Mufutau Oriola (Tai Solarin University, Nigeria) and Dr Olusegun Ojomo (Babcock University, Nigeria).
3. “Balancing freedom with responsibility or simply pandering to political whims: An analysis of Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act” by Dr Esther Muthoni King’ori and Dr Maureen Syallow of Strathmore University, Kenya.
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Panel 5 – Digital Policymaking and Data Infrastructure: The panel was chaired by Dr Oliver Carter and had the following presentations:
1. “Infrastructural tech-empire: Analysis of platform-led connectivity initiatives in Africa” by Dr Ouejdane Sabbah of the University of Amsterdam.
2. “Social media for inclusive digital policymaking practice as an approach to regulate digital policymaking decisions in the City of Dar es Salaam” by Dr Josephine Philip Churk of the College of Business Education, Dodoma-Tanzania.
3. “Zero-rating in Africa, reconsidered” by Dr Toussaint Nothias of the Digital Civil Society Lab, Stanford University (this presentation was not recorded).
4. “Regime change??: The structural constraints to reforming Ghana’s broadcasting regulatory regime following digital switchover’s creation of a multichannel television market” by Kobina Ano Bedu-Addo of the University of Westminster and the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
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Panel 6 – Ethics and New Media Regulation: The panel was chaired by Dr Kirsten Forkert and had the following presentations:
1. “Critical analysis of identities influencing ethical issues and challenges of journalism practices: The cases of Africa and Arab media political contexts in the digital age” by Dr Mekonnen Hailemariam Zirkagae of Bahir Dah University, Ethiopia.
2. “Regulation of social media in Nigeria with regard to online harms from Aristotelian virtue ethics perspective” by Dr Ngozi Okpara of Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.
3. “Online information facing political, ethical and technological challenges in Algeria” by Dr Laeed Zaghlami of Algiers University.
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Panel 7 – Approaches to Online Content Regulation: The panel was chaired by Sulayman Bah and had the following presentations:
1. “Understanding roles, responsibilities, and regulation for addressing misinformation in Kenya” by Kevin Mudavadi (Indiana University), Dr Melissa Tully (University of Iowa), Dr Dani Madrid-Morales (University of Houston), Dr Layiré Diop (Francis Marion University), and Frankline Matanji (University of Iowa).
2. “Understanding the emerging methods of social media regulation in Nigeria through digital sovereignty” by Grace Chimezie of the International Research Exchange Board.
3. “Towards a systemic approach to regulating social media and internet content” by Vincent Obia of Birmingham City University.