Chronicle Editor
WHEN Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp went offline for users around the world on Monday evening, it was as if the world had stopped for a while.
A single American company with a family of apps that are used by billions worldwide is now the lead connector of people around the globe.
Few users understand why there was a blackout and the media has not helped; speculation is now the order of the day.
Also, mounting problems for Facebook have made many draw possible links with ongoing investigations.
As the New York Times reported: “Facebook has already been dealing with plenty of scrutiny.
The company has been under fire from a whistle-blower, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager who amassed thousands of pages of internal research and has since distributed them to the news media, lawmakers and regulators.
The documents revealed that Facebook knew of many harms that its services were causing.”
Whatever the real reason behind Monday’s blackout is, businesses and livelihoods were affected.
From businesses, entrepreneurs, personalities, social media influencers, academics, individuals and politicians, Facebook has an app for everyone.
But when the blackout happened, China’s wisdom stood out.
Facebook, YouTube, Google, Twitter, Instagram as well as dozens of websites are banned in China.
This move has allowed Chinese companies to shine by taking advantage of the world’s largest market.
WeChat, for example, is a Chinese platform like Facebook and has about 1,2 billion users.
That is big money!
We say the wisdom of the Chinese stood out, because they have refused to make American companies richer at the expense of local service providers.
Africa is also a huge market with a population estimated at around 1,3 billion. Is that not enough to sustain an African version of Facebook or WeChat?
The United Nations’ Africa Renewal magazine in 2013 reported that: “The World Bank and African Development Bank report there are 650 million mobile users in Africa, surpassing the number in the United States or Europe.”
If there are more mobile phones in Africa than in the US, why should all apps come from America? Can Africa, like China, support local industry by making it difficult to access American apps in the continent?
As draconian as this suggestion is, it is one way of generating billions of dollars to grown African economies.
China did not become the world’s richest country by allowing in all American products. Draconian regulations came in handy.
Today, China is a superpower that can extend financial support to America.
When the African Union goes on and on about “African solutions to African problems,” the example of WeChat must be used to illustrate what regulations can do for economic growth.
The solution to African problems is growing the economies of nations by protecting the local market from unfair competition.
However, the problem with this solution is that Africa is not ready to defy the colonial masters.
Facebook problems are now African problems, as if Africa does not have enough problems of its own.
Online Reporter