South Africa needs to regulate X – RISE Mzansi

As numerous countries across the globe crack the whip on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), RISE Mzansi has called for South African lawmakers to introduce stricter rules for major media platforms.

Speaking to Newsday, RISE Mzansi national spokesperson Mabine Seabe said that “X has become a hub for misinformation and disinformation with little to no guardrails to curb this often deliberate practice.”

“Moreover, the platform is used to advance bigotry of all kinds under the guise of ‘freedom speech and expression.'”

Seabe said that perhaps South Africa needs to look at similar legislation as adopted by the European Union (EU), which has the Digital Services Act (DSA).

“I would not go as far calling for a ban, as is the case in some countries like Australia and the UK, but the call is for responsible regulation,” said Seabe.

The RISE Mzansi spokesperson said that the DSA, among other things, aims to:

• Make the online space safer;
• Place a responsibility on online platforms to moderate content and act quickly against illegal material, while respecting fundamental rights; and
• Promotes transparency and accountability in how algorithms work, content moderation decisions, and advertising, with major platforms facing stricter rules.

Back in 2022, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, bought what was Twitter for roughly $44 billion.

Musk has repeatedly stated that the massive purchase was primarily “to protect and promote free speech”, viewing it as essential for civilization and democracy.

He described the platform as a “common digital town square” where diverse views can be debated

More recently, he has framed it as combating censorship, especially what he saw as left-leaning suppression, stopping “civilizational risk,” or countering “extinctionists” and the “woke mind virus.”

Musk framed prior Twitter management as actively suppressing or threatening free speech through bias, over-moderation, and external influences.

However, critics argue that this has opened pandora’s box, and controversies have been mounting.

Global crackdown on X

Several countries are actively regulating, investigating, fining, threatening to ban, or have partially/limited access to X, particularly in recent months.

This stems from ongoing tensions over, among other things, content moderation and free speech vs safety.

RISE Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi recently expressed his concerns that “Musk has used his platforms to spread lies, misinformation and disinformation.”

“Not only about South Africa… he’s a white supremacist. He declared himself an enemy of our Constitutional Order,” Zibi said.

Another major recent controversy involving Grok (X’s AI), which generated non-consensual sexualised “deepfake” or “undressing” images of women and minors, has also prompted calls for and actual crackdowns across the globe.

In the EU, X faces heavy oversight under the DSA. In December 2025, it was fined €120 million (~R2.3 billion) for misleading users and restricting researcher access.

Ongoing probes now target illegal content, disinformation, hate speech, and Grok’s explicit outputs, with authorities ordering all Grok-related data preserved through 2026.

EU regulators frame this as user protection and platform accountability, though Musk calls it censorship.

In the United Kingdom, there are strong threats of a full or effective ban under the Online Safety Act.

PM Keir Starmer and ministers condemned Grok’s AI-generated indecent images as “disgusting” and “unacceptable,” urging the national regulator to act, including potential blocks if X fails to remove illegal/harmful content.

He cited this as being for child protection, violence against women/girls, preventing harm from unregulated AI.

In Indonesia and Malaysia, they blocked access to Grok in January 2026 due to risks of pornographic/sexually explicit content generated without safeguards.

The reasons given were for preventing harmful AI outputs, especially non-consensual explicit imagery.

Other countries, including India, Brazil, Australia, and Canada, are also threatening action.

There have been high-level calls for suspension over Grok’s deepfakes pending investigation.